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In this way, the lawyer responded to the announcement of the Ministry of Health that the children could self-register for the vaccine and go to the vaccination center themselves, even if the parents did not agree.
“If the opinion of the child about the vaccination does not coincide with the opinion of the parents (adoptive parents), guardians or caregivers, you can ask the family doctor to document that the person can correctly assess their health status. After receiving this document, the child can independently register for vaccination and go to the vaccination center ”, indicates the report of the Ministry of Health.
I.Vėgėlė says that such an order contradicts the Civil Code.
Photo by Vidmantas Balkūnas / 15min photo / Ignas Vėgėlė
“A child between the ages of 14 and 18 can make a deal only with the consent of the parents. He cannot make a transaction until the age of 14, except for very small household items allowed by the Civil Code. And this is a specific transaction: consent to vaccination ‘, 15 minutes said the head of the bar.
“The permission to vaccinate, the permission to go to the doctor is a one-sided transaction. When parents take their child to the doctor, they sign a set of consents and permits. It is a transaction carried out by the parents on behalf of a child. As adults We signed those papers ourselves, ”he said.
I.Vėgėlė noted that medical assistance is provided to children only in cases of extreme urgency without parental permission.
“Even if a child goes to the school nurse, it only helps him in one additional case. In all others, contact parents. Any intervention in the health of a child requires the signing of a lot of documents ”, emphasized the lawyer.
“I do not understand what is happening in Lithuania. Perhaps the Ministry of Health fired all the lawyers? The impression is that they have left. And if they stayed, it would be worth resorting to the Civil Code before making such decisions”, suggested I. Vėgėlė.
Vaccination for adolescents aged 12-15 years begins in Lithuania on Monday.
They are vaccinated with BioNTech and Pfizer’s Comirnaty vaccine.
Parents (adoptive parents), guardians or caregivers can also register children for vaccination.
Once a child has been registered for vaccination, at least one of the parents (adoptive parents), guardians or caregivers must come together to the vaccination center.
Arrival is considered consent for vaccination.
Vaccination: a special case?
Agnė Širinskienė, vice chairman of the Seimas Public Order Committee, is not so categorical.
It maintains that vaccinating children when parents object is treated as an unforeseen special case.
Photo by Lukas Balandus / 15min / Agnė Širinskienė
“The Law on Patients’ Rights and Compensation for Health Damages provides for individual cases in which a child may receive services without parental consent.” 15 minutes she commented.
Under the law, when parents avoid performing statutory functions or when parents disagree on the scope of medical care for a minor under 16, decisions are made by the treating physician and, if necessary, by medical advice, solely in the judgment of the patient’s best interests.
Doctors will select the methods of diagnosis and treatment, taking into account the interests of the minor, even if there are disagreements between the patient under 16 years of age and their representatives.
According to A.Širinskienė, these provisions of the law allow a minor to be vaccinated when his parents do not agree.
“The law provides an opportunity. It is not the wishes and wishes of the parents, but the interests of the child that are valued. And if a vaccine with a pediatric indication, and I understand that the Pfizer vaccine already has a pediatric indication, the safety and efficacy has been proven, ”he said.
World debate
In the United States, vaccination of twelve-year-olds against the coronavirus began in May, and European countries are making those decisions this month.
In children, coronavirus disease is less dangerous than in the elderly, and vaccination is aimed at preventing transmission of the virus.
However, in rare cases, a severe form of COVID-19 also affects children, with possible complications.
The vaccination of children and adolescents in the West has caused much debate.
In May, the World Health Organization called on richer countries to postpone vaccinating minors and distribute available vaccines to poorer countries where vulnerable groups still do not receive them.
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