New Bill Would Give California Minors 12 and Older Vaccine Autonomy

A high school student, 17, receives her first Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine administered by Medical Assistants from St. John's Well Child and Family Center at Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles on April 23, 2021. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

SAN FRANCISCO—California lawmakers introduced a bill on Jan. 20 designed to allow children 12 and older to receive any U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved vaccination, including the recent COVID-19 vaccine, without parental consent.

The Teens Choose Vaccines Act, or Senate Bill 866, builds on an existing state law that gives autonomy for minors 12 and older to receive both the hepatitis B and Human Papillomavirus vaccine.