For Immediate Release: November 17, 2020
Contact: Jason Lemieux, Director of Government Affairs
opp@centerforinquiry.org - (202) 733-5287
Today the Center for Inquiry (CFI) commended the Council of the District of Columbia for overwhelmingly voting to approve the DC Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act of 2019 (Bill 23-171). Council Members voted 10-3 at a final hearing of the bill Tuesday afternoon, moving young people a step closer to being able to protect their own health and safety by being vaccinated. CFI urges Mayor Muriel Bowser to sign the bill into law.
The measure allows minors eleven years of age or older to consent to vaccinations that have been recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A doctor would first have to determine that their young patient is “capable of meeting the informed consent standard.” But being vaccinated against contagious diseases such as measles, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, and the human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most positive actions a person can take to protect their own health and that of their family and community. Vaccinations not only protect the individual but they can prevent diseases from spreading to others, helping communities to build up herd immunity.
In June 2019, CFI Director of Government Affairs Jason Lemieux testified in support of this important legislation at a hearing of the Committee on Health.
“In the twenty-first century alone, vaccines have saved millions of lives,” said Lemieux. “In a time when pseudoscientific conspiracy theories push droves of well-intentioned people away from vaccinating their children, it is more important than ever to empower minors to meet the standard of informed consent to protect themselves and others from vaccine-preventable diseases.”
CFI has long supported legislation to strengthen state immunization standards, including legislation to repeal nonmedical exemptions from mandatory immunization for children in school and day care. In recent years, CFI has supported pro-vaccine legislation in Virginia, Colorado, Louisiana, New Jersey, California, New York, Massachusetts, Maine, and D.C.