Did DC's municipal council vote to give children over 11 the right to get vaccinations without parental approval?
By Ashley Freeman
Copy link
Copy featured image
YES
The District of Columbia Council approved a bill allowing minors over the age of 11 to obtain recommended vaccinations without parental consent. The bill specifies additional steps to protect a minor's right to confidentiality around an HPV vaccine (which protects against the sexually-transmitted virus).
The bill passed its required second reading on Nov. 17. After the mayor signs the bill, it is then sent to the U.S. Congress under D.C.'s unique governance provisions. Congress has 30 days to act to block the bill with a joint resolution requiring presidential approval. If no action is taken, the law then takes effect in the city.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
