Walmart Sued for Giving COVID-19 Vaccine to Minor Without Parental Consent

In late November 2021, a Kansas mother filed a lawsuit against Walmart alleging that it had administered the COVID-19 vaccine to her 15-year-old daughter without parental consent.

According to the complaint and other reports of the facts, the daughter desired the COVID-19 vaccination so she could see friends, but the mother was opposed to the vaccine. The 15-year-old girl, accompanied by her 21-year-old brother-in-law, went to Walmart, where the girl requested and was given the vaccine without the signature of a parent or guardian.

The mother’s complaint alleges that in Kansas, a minor must be 16 years of age to give consent to a medical treatment; otherwise, parental consent is required. The complaint alleges battery (by the pharmacist giving the vaccine), violation of right of privacy, negligence by the pharmacist (for not warning the daughter of the dangers of the vaccine, among other things), and negligence by the pharmacy.

The plaintiff used over a quarter of the complaint to list articles and studies that she believed backed up her concerns over the safety of the vaccine and its potential side effects.

We will be following this case closely to see where it goes, but it raises a question that periodically arises—at what age can a teen make that sort of decision for themselves?