WHO document – Considerations regarding consent in vaccinating children and adolescents between 6 and 17 years old

Source: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/259418

PDF source: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/259418/WHO-IVB-14.04-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=yAn

Common approaches for obtaining consent for vaccination

Current practices of obtaining informed consent for vaccination vary among countries, but can be broadly categorized into three approaches.

An implied consent process by which parents are informed of imminent vaccination through social mobilization and communication, sometimes including letters directly addressed to the parents. Subsequently, the physical presence of the child or adolescent, with or without an accompanying parent at the vaccination session, is considered to imply consent. This practice is based on the opt-out principle and parents who do not consent to vaccination are expected implicitly to take steps to ensure that their child or adolescent does not participate in the vaccination session. This
may include not letting the child or adolescent attend school on a vaccination day, if vaccine delivery occurs through schools.