Strive for collaboration, but listen to the children
Experts say the best solution is to for a doctor to meet with minors and their reluctant parents to get them on board for a COVID shot.
“Physicians are still the trusted messengers,” said Emma Olivera, MD, a pediatrician in suburban Chicago who advises groups that combat COVID misinformation.
Dr. Olivera said she often finds that internet-savvy teenagers have access to more information than older people, including their parents.
Thanks to COVID policies, office meetings are “difficult to do,” NYU’s Dr. Caplan added. In such a meeting, Dr. Caplan said he would try to convince the parents that the shots are needed for their children to stay in school or play sports. In the end, he said minors should get the shot but would also notify the parents before that happens: “My duty is to them.”
If parents take opposite stances, the pro-vaccine side is likely to prevail, even in California, said Patrick Baghdaserians, JD, a family law attorney in Pasadena. Mr. Baghdaserians said he is now representing a father who wants his teenager to get vaccinated but the mother doesn’t. “The court will fall on our side,” he predicted.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.