
Almost all states require some form of parental or guardian consent for vaccine providers to administer Covid-19 shots to teens ages 12 to 15, according to a CNN analysis.
But there are some exceptions. Five states (Alabama, Iowa, North Carolina, Oregon, and Tennessee) allow some ages in this group to consent on their own or leave requirements to individual vaccine providers.
CNN contacted all 50 states about their laws on parental consent for vaccinating people ages 12 to 15. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday authorized the emergency use of Pfizer / BioNTech coronavirus in this age group in the United States. On Wednesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended using the vaccine in this age group. However, parental consent requirements for the vaccine are included in state legislation.
In North Carolina, teens can consent on their own to get Covid-19 vaccines “if they have the ability to understand and make decisions about their health,” said Bailey Pennington, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services. from the state, to CNN by email.
In two states (Alabama and Tennessee), teens 14 and older can be vaccinated without parental consent. In Oregon, children 15 years of age or older can give consent without parents or guardians.
In Iowa, individual health care providers or health systems consult with their legal counsel about the requirements and documentation needed to administer Covid-19 vaccines.
Among the states that require parental consent to administer Covid-19 vaccines between the ages of 12 and 15, some exceptional exceptions to the requirement include whether the person in this age group is married, pregnant, or is legally emancipated from her parents.
“The federal government doesn’t really govern on what kind of consent or consent you need for these teens,” CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a virtual event with The Economic Club in Washington, DC, on Thursday.
“Every person has to go to their state,” he said. “A lot of people will say, ‘Your dad doesn’t need to be there, but your dad needs information or your dad needs to be logged out.’ So it really varies by state.”
A Kaiser Family Foundation survey in April, before a Covid-19 vaccine was approved for young teens, found that 30% of parents of people ages 12 to 15 said they would vaccinate their child immediately. and 26% waited while. However, 18% said they would vaccinate their 12- to 15-year-old against Covid-19 only if the school required it, and 23% said they definitely would not.