Live: Coronavirus daily news updates, May 7: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the world

On Thursday, California lawmakers voted unanimously, 7-0, to move a bill that would allow kids to get COVID-19 and other FDA-approved vaccines without permission from their parents or guardians, despite vocal opposition from people hesitant about safety of the vaccine and kids’ rights to choose.

In January, Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, introduced Senate Bill 866, the Teens Choose Vaccines Act, to allow young people ages 12 to 17 to bypass their parents’ vaccine hesitancy or busy schedules, and give them more autonomy over their bodies.

“Teens should be able to protect their own health with vaccines – whether against COVID, flu, measles or polio – even if their parents refuse or can’t take them to get the shot,” Wiener said on Twitter on Thursday. “Our legislation to allow teens to get vaccinated on their own just passed a key committee.”

Most opponents of the bill are adamant the vaccine causes injuries, and say it’s not safe for kids to make their own decisions about the COVID vaccine in particular.

Hundreds of people — including parents — shared serious concerns and direct attacks against state lawmakers for considering passage of the bill during public comment at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday. Many said Wiener and state leaders want to strip away the rights of parents because the bill allows kids to make decisions over their bodies when they’re not of legal age. They also said the bill promotes a vaccine that causes bodily harm.

Proponents of SB 866 have argued that teens in this state can access HPV vaccine, reproductive health, abortions, birth control and other health services without consent from a parent or guardian, and should have the right to decide whether to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

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For the first time, the U.S. came close to providing health care for all during the coronavirus pandemic — but for just one condition, COVID-19.

Now, things are reverting to the way they were as federal money for COVID care of the uninsured dries up, creating a potential barrier to timely access.

But the virus is not contained, even if it’s better controlled. And safety-net hospitals and clinics are seeing sharply higher costs for salaries and other basic operating expenses. They fear they won’t be prepared if there’s another surge and no backstop.

“We haven’t turned anybody away yet,” said Dr. Mark Loafman, chair of family and community medicine at Cook County Health in Chicago. “But I think it’s just a matter of time … People don’t get cancer treatment or blood pressure treatment every day in America because they can’t afford it.”

A $20 billion government COVID program covered testing, treatment and vaccine costs for uninsured people. But that’s been shut down. Special Medicaid COVID coverage for the uninsured in more than a dozen states also likely faces its last months.

At Parkland Health, the frontline hospital system for Dallas, Dr. Fred Cerise questions the logic of dialing back federal dollars at a time when health officials have rolled out a new “test-to-treat” strategy. People with COVID-19 can now get antiviral pills to take at home, hopefully avoiding hospitalization. Vice President Kamala Harris, who recently tested positive but is back working at the White House, is an example.

“Test-to-treat will be very difficult for uninsured individuals,” predicted Cerise, president and CEO of the system. “If it’s a change in strategy on the large scale, and it’s coming without funding, people are going to be reluctant to adopt that.”

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