U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) announced legislation Friday to bar the federal government and public schools from forcing children to be vaccinated for COVID-19, citing parental rights and the potential threat to children relative to their risks from COVID itself.
The Parental Rights Protection Act prohibits the federal government and any entity receiving federal education or health funds from “requir[ing] or otherwise mandat[ing] that any individual age 18 or younger receive a COVID-19 vaccine,” with any “local educational agency” that does so penalized by loss of federal funding. It also requires that COVID vaccines only be administered to minors if “a parent, guardian, conservator, or attorney-in-fact of the minor provides prior, written, informed consent.”