MEDICINE TODAY
HONEY, I VAXXED THE KIDS THE LIMITS OF CHILD AUTONOMY WITHIN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC By
Eva McCord Michelle Ma
As soon as children transition from toddlerhood to preschool age— from chewing on teething rings to “chewing on” the contours of language, opinion, and occasionally shrill outspokenness— we ask questions. What do you want to be when you grow up? Did you make any new friends today? If you could teleport to anywhere in the world at this very moment, where would you go? In our eagerness to prod, probe, and dote on young minds, unencumbered by the nuance and cynicism conferred by age and
experience, we transform children into miniature Oracles of Delphi. We find a peculiar comfort in questioning those who make up for a lack of life experience with boisterous, blind optimism— eyes glinting in the face of the future even when they cannot discern what exactly it holds. And now, standing at one of many turning points in the COVID-19 pandemic, we must ask our children another question. Do you feel your life is in your own hands? With Wednesday, November 3rd marking the newfound eligi-
bility of 28 million children aged 5 to 11 to receive Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, there has been no time more pressing than now to discuss the complicated concept of “adolescent medical decision-making capacity.” This term encompasses the situation in which the already challenging task of making medical decisions butts heads with the very nature of being a child— lacking the experience and knowledge that would empower one to make an educated and independent decision— let alone one that is staring down the metaphorical barrel of a life-threatening disease. In investigating academic
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