Washington D.C. Bill Allows Children 11 Years and Older to be Vaccinated Without Parental Knowledge
On Oct. 7, 2020, during a hastily scheduled virtual meeting, four District of Columbia Council members making up the Health Committee amended and unanimously passed a minor consent bill, B23-0171.3 The bill would not only permit children aged 11 years and older to give consent for doctors and other vaccine administrators to give them vaccines without their parents’ knowledge or consent, but would also require insurance companies, vaccine administrators and schools to conceal from parents that the child has been vaccinated. On Oct. 20, 2020,4 the entire DC Council voted in favor of the bill 12:15 on the first reading in yet another virtual online meeting with no public testimony. It was announced that the second reading, which will be the final vote, will take place on Nov. 10, 2020. In a revealing statement Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7), the chair of the DC Health Committee which passed the bill, explained why the bill was all suddenly being revived and pushed through so quickly. Gray was quoted in The Washington Post as saying, “the hope of an imminent coronavirus vaccine gave the bill new urgency.” Primary sponsor of this bill, DC Council Member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), emphasized that coronavirus vaccines were her the main reason why she wants to remove parents from the process of vaccinating children.