Fact check: New York state bill on parental consent for vaccination not up for Jan. 5 vote
The claim: New York State will vote Jan. 5 to give kids vaccines without parental consent
As COVID-19 vaccination efforts continue nationwide, some on social media claim parents' wishes for their kids will be ignored by one state.
"Did U know NYS will vote on Jan 5th to give your kids shots without parental consent?! Now ya do!" reads a Dec. 23 Facebook post , shared more than 800 times in less than two weeks.
While the post isn't totally wrong, it's missing some context.
The New York State Senate is considering a bill that would allow some kids to be vaccinated without their parents' permission, but it only applies to teens 14 and older. And the bill will not be voted on Jan. 5. If eventually passed, it would not be the first law of its kind.
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Paste BN reached out to the Facebook user who shared the post for comment.
Bill permits waiving parental consent for some teens seeking vaccination
New York State Sen. Liz Krueger introduced a bill in March 2019 that would allow teens aged 14 or older to receive vaccines "required or recommended by law" without their parents' permission. Parental consent to vaccination would still be required for kids under the age of 14.
The bill was introduced amid a measles outbreak in Brooklyn and Rockland County, the New York Times reported at the time. It is currently in committee, where it has been since January 2020. Since it's not yet on the floor calendar, it won't be voted on Jan. 5, the date on which the state's legislative session begins.
New York chapters of the American Academy of Pediatrics said in 2019 they supported the bill because it lined up with the longstanding concept of the "mature minor" exception to parental consent, the New York Times reported. The academy also cited young people's prowess at recognizing anti-vaccine misinformation online.
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If enacted into law, the New York bill would not be the only law of its kind. Laws in Alabama, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia allow some teens under 18 to be inoculated without parental consent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Four more states give health care providers the authority to waive parental consent.
Our rating: Partly false
Based on our research, we rate the claim that New York State will vote Jan. 5 to give kids vaccines without parental consent as PARTLY FALSE. The New York State Senate is considering a bill that would allow some kids to be vaccinated without their parents' permission, but only teens 14 and older. And the bill will not be voted on Jan. 5.
Our fact-check sources:
- New York State Senate, March 5, 2019, Senate Bill S4244C
- New York Times, March 11, 2019, Facing Measles Outbreak, N.Y. Lawmakers Want to Let Teenagers Get Vaccines on Their Own
- New York State Assembly, retrieved Jan. 1, New York State Legislative Session Calendar
- Journal of Pediatrics, Oct. 1991, Exploration for physicians of the mature minor doctrine
- Kaiser Family Foundation, updated Oct. 11, 2021, State Parental Consent Laws for COVID-19 Vaccination
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