On the last day of the legislative session a hard-fought effort paid off, and legislation died that sought to remove parent and guardian involvement in the vaccination of children.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, the sponsor of legislation to give minors 15 and older the right to be vaccinated without parental permission, announced on Twitter that SB 866 remained several votes short of the 41 votes needed to pass in the California Assembly. The state Senate had approved it 21-8 in May.

Wiener announced that he placed SB 866 in the inactive file. August 31 was the final day of the two-year legislative session. The legislation, in its amended form, would have allowed minors 15 and older to decide whether to be vaccinated. The bill as originally written by Wiener would have let minors 12 and older make the decision.

Wiener said he would continue to pursue the effort. A new legislature convenes in early 2023.

In opposing SB 866, the California Catholic Conference said the bill posed “a great risk to the health of children….”

The above comes from a Sept. 1 posting by Valerie Schmalz of  the Archdiocese of San Francisco.