Minors Cannot Get a COVID-19 Vaccine Without Parental Consent

(KNSI) – Minors cannot defy their parents when it comes to choosing to get a COVID-19 vaccine under Minnesota law.

Lawyers say state law dictates that parents chose what vaccinations their children get and kids don’t have the right to decide for themselves. St. Cloud area Attorney Mike Bryant, with Bradshaw and Bryant Law Firm, thinks it would take a lawsuit to change the current precedent.

“It would be interesting to see if there was a flat out disagreement between the parents and the child about whether to get vaccinated. What would happen at that point? I’m guessing a lot would come down to the reasoning on both sides.”

He says lawsuits between parents and children could emerge if schools required vaccinations.

“If schools started requiring it, and kids couldn’t get in school because of it, you might get some kind of pushback at that point. You’d have advocates that would bring claims.”

He says the only way a child could get vaccinated without their parent’s permission or consent is to get emancipated.

In May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine for use in kids age 12 and older.

Last week, the Minnesota Department of Health said more than 400 schools across the state had at least five positive COVID-19 infections in the building.

On Monday, Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine works for children ages 5 to 11, and the vaccine maker said it plans to seek authorization for use in the age group soon in the U.S.

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