by Guy Page
Nine states and two cities do not require parental consent for Covid-19 vaccination, but Vermont does – for now.
“We do require authorization from parents for vaccination,” Gov. Phil Scott said at today’s press conference. “I’m not sure if we’re going to change that. I don’t see it changing.”
When school reconvenes in the fall, “we don’t currently have plans to require vaccination,” Education Secretary Dan French said at today’s press conference. “We did talk about that for a bit.” Vermont’s vaccination numbers are high enough now that, by September, no further mitigation should be needed, he said.
Specifically, the Agency of Education is recommending five-day-a-week in-school teaching without social distancing. No decision has been made on masking. Remote learning will occur on a per-student basis, French said.
Levine was more cautious than French. “We do fully expect the percent positivity rates to be so low that it won’t be common that students acquire the virus in the community bring it to school. We’re watching the data though.”
When asked if the door has been left open to requiring student vaccination, Levine said: “You didn’t hear the word ‘require’ at this point in time.”
The Pfizer vaccine was recently authorized for emergency use among children ages 12-15, and many states – including Vermont – are encouraging universal vaccination in this age group.
According to a DistrictAdministration.org news report sourced from the Kaiser Family Foundation, San Francisco and Philadelphia both allow teens to become vaccinated without parental consent. Other states also allow exceptions to parental consent.
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