California senator withdraws bill to allow minors to get vaccinated without parental approval

California state Sen. Scott Wiener (D) dropped a bill that would have allowed minors in the state to get vaccinated without parental consent, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The bill, S.B. 866, would have granted children 15 and older access to the COVID vaccine and other FDA-approved vaccines without needing parental permission or knowledge.

However, Wiener pulled his proposal on Wednesday due to its lack of support. The bill was "several votes short of 41" needed to pass.

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"Sadly, months of harassment and misinformation — including death threats against me and teen advocates — by a small but highly vocal and organized minority of anti-vaxxers have taken their toll," said Wiener in a statement. "The anti-vaxxers may have prevailed in this particular fight, but the broader fight for science and health continues."

The San Francisco Chronicle writes that Wiener suspects widespread misinformation about vaccines has persuaded parents to reject "potentially lifesaving immunizations" and that the health of teens will suffer as a result of the bill not passing.

Parents have argued the bill would interfere with their rights to choose what is best for their child and could lead to treatment complications if a child had a serious reaction and hadn't disclosed that they were vaccinated.

"The bill is the third major piece of vaccine legislation to die at the state Capitol this year," writes the Chronicle.