Tennessee abandons ALL vaccine outreach to minors due to Republican state lawmakers

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

On Monday, July 12, the Tennessee Department of Health fired Dr. Michelle Fiscus, the top vaccine official in the state government. Fiscus said she was scapegoated to appease Republican state lawmakers who are angry about efforts to vaccinate teenagers. After losing her job, Fiscus released a 1,200-word statement about the ordeal. 

Then on Tuesday 7/13/21, Tennessee  Dept. of Health issued notice to stop outreach promoting adolescent vaccines for all diseases including COVID-19.       Karen

 

Tennessee abandons vaccine outreach to minors — not just for COVID-19

Brett Kelman

Nashville Tennessean    7/13/21

Quote

The Tennessee Department of Health will halt all adolescent vaccine outreach – not just for coronavirus, but all diseases – amid pressure from Republican state lawmakers, according to an internal report and agency emails obtained by the Tennessean. If the health department must issue any information about vaccines, staff are instructed to strip the agency logo off the documents.

The health department will also stop all COVID-19 vaccine events on school property, despite holding at least one such event this month. The decisions to end vaccine outreach and school events come directly from Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey, the internal report states.

Additionally, the health department will take steps to ensure it no longer sends postcards or other notices reminding teenagers to get their second dose of the coronavirus vaccines. Postcards will still be sent to adults, but teens will be excluded from the mailing list so the postcards are not “potentially interpreted as solicitation to minors,” the report states. ...

..And these changes will take effect just as the coronavirus pandemic shows new signs of spread in Tennessee. After months of declining infections, the average number of new cases per day has more than doubled in the past two weeks – from 177 to 418. The average test positivity rate has jumped from 2.2% to 5.4% in the same time period..

 

Senator Mitch McConnell spoke well on the need for vaccines as a survivor of childhood Polio.  Tennessee is subjecting its  adolescent children to diseases they DON'T have to experience with the advent of modern vaccines.

 

 

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

Yeah, let's just go back to the dark ages.

 

What idiocy.

[toomuchbaloney]

So the Tennessee republicans are representing stupidity?

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

6 hours ago, toomuchbaloney said:

So the Tennessee republicans are representing stupidity?

I think it’s more ominous than that. They know what they are doing and they are unconcerned with whomever might be harmed in the process.

[Daisy4RN]

From a parent and grandparent point of view I would not be happy about my minor children/grandchildren being able to recieve any vaccine or other medical treatment without parent/guardian consent. It looks like TN law allows 14-17yo's to do just that (which I don't agree with). Even so they are approaching kids 12yo and up with info. I have no problem with Health Agencies giving kids just info but it should be up to parents to decide what is best for their own kids. 

[toomuchbaloney]

37 minutes ago, Daisy4RN said:

From a parent and grandparent point of view I would not be happy about my minor children/grandchildren being able to recieve any vaccine or other medical treatment without parent/guardian consent. It looks like TN law allows 14-17yo's to do just that (which I don't agree with). Even so they are approaching kids 12yo and up with info. I have no problem with Health Agencies giving kids just info but it should be up to parents to decide what is best for their own kids. 

The supreme court ruling is decades old...

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Tennessee Mature Minor doctrine

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...Between the ages of 14 and 18, there is a rebuttable presumption of capacity, and the physician may treat without parental consent unless the physician believes that the minor is not sufficiently mature to make his or her own health care decisions. ...

...Tennessee county health departments follow Tennessee law and provide medical treatment and vaccinations to patients as young as 14 without parental consent if the individual provider determines that the patient meets the definition of a “mature minor” in accordance with Tennessee law.

Certain statutes also explicitly permit the treatment of minors for specific conditions without parental consent, including treatment of juvenile drug abusers (T.C.A § 63-6-220), emergency situations (T.C.A § 63-6-222), treatment for STDs (T.C.A § 68-10-104(c), providing contraception (T.C.A § 68-34-107), and providing prenatal care (T.C.A § 63-6-223).

In the case of abortion, however, the legislature has made clear that no minor may obtain an abortion without either parental consent or a court order in exceptional circumstances...

Law was passed years ago to permit treatment of above health issues as many parents in denial of child's health  problems, preventing treatment from occurring.

[nursej22, MSN, RN]

"Hey Mom, I want to get that shot that prevents cancer."

"Over my dead body. 50 years ago 2 women in Europe had  abortions." 

 

[Daisy4RN]

"Hey Mom, why did the government give me that shot when I was 14yo without you knowing it when they didn't know what the long term effects could be, and also knew my brain wasnt fully developed enough yet to give informed consent. Now I am sick 10+ years later. They said it was safe and effective, but they knew at the time they didn't know if it was or not!!"

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Disclaimer: I'm working as a camp nurse @ camp owned by my children's prior Pediatrician who've I've known 30+ years.  Stories of children's PARENTS she lost due to COVID are heart breaking.   Practice giving Pfizer vaccine to 12-21 YO.  I'm assisting in making sure all counselor staff get 2nd vaccine  completed too.

American Academy of Pediatrics 

April 19, 2021

Children make up nearly 21% of new COVID-19 cases

Quote

 

About 88,500 new pediatric COVID-19 cases were reported between April 8-15, according to the latest weekly report from the AAP and Children’s Hospital Association. Since the start of the pandemic, more than 3.63 million children have tested positive, making up about 13.6% of all cases.

At least 297 children have died of COVID-19, about 0.06% of all deaths. About 0.01% of children diagnosed with COVID-19 have died. At least 14,849 children have been hospitalized, about 2% of all hospitalizations. Roughly 0.8% of children with COVID-19 have been hospitalized....

 

CDC: Side Effects and Safety Monitoring

Q: Are there any safety concerns with the new technologies (mRNA and nanotechnology) being used in the development of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines?

Quote

A: There are no known additional risks of mRNA vaccines or lipid nanoparticles. Live attenuated viral vaccines, such as measles vaccine, induce an immune response that is similar to natural infection. mRNA vaccines, on the other hand, simply give the body instructions to produce one very specific part of a virus – in this case the so-called spike protein – to then induce an immune response. Because mRNA is broken down very quickly in the human body, to do its work it needs to be able to get into our cells, and so it is wrapped in a lipid nanoparticle. Once it gets into the cells to deliver the instructions, the mRNA breaks down very quickly. It does not get into the nucleus of the cell, or into our genes. Since the new mRNA vaccines have been administered, their safety profiles are reassuring.

Since April 2021, several cases of myocarditis and pericarditis have been reported in adolescents and young adults following receipt of mRNA vaccines – most often following the 2nd dose. Pediatricians should consider myocarditis and pericarditis in adolescents or young adults with acute chest pain, shortness of breath, or palpitations and report any suspected cases post COVID-19 vaccination to VAERS. CDC continues to monitor the situation and has created guidance for health care providers.

Q: What side effects are noted to date with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna)?

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The side effects have been similar to other routine vaccines- sore arm, redness, fatigue, fever, chills, headache, myalgia, and arthralgia. The side effects are temporary and mostly mild or moderate. Side effects may be worse after the second dose in some individuals. Anaphylaxis has been observed following receipt of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, but this has been rare. A full listing of the side effects is now available on the FDA website and a summary is found in the fact sheet that is provided to everyone who receives the vaccine. The potential for side effects that cause individuals to miss work should also be considered in planning.

CDC: Understanding mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines

Allergic Reactions Including Anaphylaxis After Receipt of the First Dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine — United States, December 14–23, 2020 | MMWR (CDC.gov)

Allergic Reactions Including Anaphylaxis After Receipt of the First Dose of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine — United States, December 21, 2020–January 10, 2021 | MMWR (CDC.gov)

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Interesting commentary:

COVID-19 Vaccination of Minors Without Parental Consent: Respecting Emerging Autonomy and Advancing Public Health

 

Minors’ Capacity to Consent to Highly Beneficial, Low-Risk Treatments

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Before age 14 years, minors are generally thought to lack the cognitive capacity and maturity to make rational health care judgments.8 Factors such as social pressure, emotional regulation, and planning skills affect minors’ ability to make well-considered choices. To account for these developmental facts, laws require parental permission and presume that parents know and will act in the best interest of their children. Despite this presumption, parents and minors might disagree about health care decisions. In the context of vaccination, some older minors may possess a more accurate understanding of the risks and benefits of a vaccine than their hesitant guardians. In younger children, and depending on the intervention, such cases present challenges and may entail judicial intervention.

However, by age 14 years, minors’ reasoning begins to track adult decision-making, weighing in favor of respect for minors’ autonomy to make health care decisions that advance their health, particularly when these choices have a positive effect on public health. Around this age, adolescents develop cognitive processes—including a metacognitive understanding of decision-making, problem-solving skills, and an ability to commit to choices—that foster competent decisions.8

 

 

[nursej22, MSN, RN]

21 hours ago, Daisy4RN said:

"Hey Mom, why did the government give me that shot when I was 14yo without you knowing it when they didn't know what the long term effects could be, and also knew my brain wasnt fully developed enough yet to give informed consent. Now I am sick 10+ years later. They said it was safe and effective, but they knew at the time they didn't know if it was or not!!"

"That's right, honey. The world was in the middle of a global epidemic that killed millions of people, and the best experts in the field knew that vaccination was the way to save lives. Your illness has absolutely nothing to do with the toxins in our air, water, and food, let alone the microbes that surround us, or the genes you inherited from me and your daddy."