When you grow up, then at least get grafted – Newspaper Kommersant No. 145 (7346) of 08/11/2022

The Supreme Court of Russia has refused to recognize illegal the requirement of the Ministry of Health to obtain parental consent to vaccinate minors against coronavirus. The plaintiffs insisted that the laws “On Immunoprophylaxis of Infectious Diseases” and “On the Fundamentals of Protecting Citizens’ Health” give citizens the right to make their own decisions about medical manipulations from the age of 15. The motivational part of the position of the Supreme Court is still unknown, but the representative of the plaintiffs, Petr Karmanov, calls the court’s decision “political” – and adopted under pressure from opponents of vaccination as such.

In early 2022, 17-year-old student Jessica Akhtariyeva decided to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. However, at the Moscow vaccination point, she was required to give her parents’ written consent to the procedure. It should be noted that the laws “On the Immunoprophylaxis of Infectious Diseases” and “On the Fundamentals of Protecting the Health of Citizens” state that Russians over 15 years old can independently make decisions about medical manipulations, including vaccination. However, in the case of vaccination against coronavirus (it is given in Russia to adolescents 12-17 years old with the Sputnik M vaccine), the Ministry of Health made an exception: this procedure requires written voluntary informed consent from the parents. Leyla Namazova-Baranova, chief freelance pediatric specialist in preventive medicine at the Ministry of Health, explained that this would guarantee the voluntariness of vaccination.

According to Mrs. Akhtariyeva, her family lives in Ufa, so it was impossible to transfer the document promptly. As a result, the girl went on principle and decided to seek the right to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in court. “It sounds, of course, a little pathetic, but yes, I want to defend the right to an independent decision for all minors,” she said in an interview with Metro. “There are teenagers who are educated in another city, and now they cannot be vaccinated in any way.” “.

A similar lawsuit was filed against the Ministry of Health by a minor Mikhail Shekhovtsov – he claims that consent to the vaccination from his parents “is impossible to obtain.” The interests of teenagers were represented by the assistant to the deputy of the Moscow City Duma Darya Besedina (Yabloko), lawyer Pyotr Karmanov. According to him, in the first stage, more than 20 people – “the same minors who were not allowed to be vaccinated by their parents” – filed applications to join the lawsuit. “But at the same time, a huge number of applications were received from concerned citizens who wanted to act as interested parties on the side of the defendant,” Petr Karmanov tells Kommersant. “Obviously, unlike our applicants, their rights were not directly affected. The court should have simply rejected them, but decided at the same time to dismiss the applications and citizens who wanted to take the side of the plaintiff.”

In April, the court rejected the claim, and then the teenagers appealed to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. But even there, the order of the Ministry of Health was recognized as legal. The rationale for this decision is not yet known. Petr Karmanov calls the decision of the Supreme Court “political” and connected with strong pressure from “anti-vaxxers”. “This is unfair,” says Mr. Karmanov. “The Ministry of Health, in its own way, introduced an additional, in fact, uninformed consent of the parents, which does not even explain what the essence of the procedure is. Therefore, it is not surprising that many of them do not agree to vaccination.” According to him, during the trial, Jessica Akhtariyeva turned 18 and got vaccinated. But for Mikhail Shchekhovtsov, the problem is still relevant. However, he has no plans to go to the Constitutional Court, notes Mr. Karmanov.

“The decision of the Ministry of Health that in order to be vaccinated against coronavirus infection, minors need the consent of their legal representative is a manifestation of its discretionary powers. By itself, it really does not violate the rights of such minors,” comments Ivan Alexandrov, a lawyer for the Moscow Bar Association of Aronov and Partners. He emphasizes that no one deprives teenagers of the opportunity to get vaccinated: “The order of the Ministry of Health only establishes the procedure for vaccination, but does not contain restrictions on the right to receive vaccination.” But how the decision of the Ministry of Health is justified, “this is another question that it would be right to ask the medical community,” adds Mr. Alexandrov.

Irina Gritsenko, a “medical” lawyer of the Legal Policy Bar Association, points out: according to the Civil Code, minors aged 14 to 18 have partial legal capacity and have the right to independently, without the consent of their parents, adoptive parents and guardian, make a number of transactions. However, the receipt of medical services, if interpreted as a transaction, is not included in the list specified in the Civil Code. “Therefore, the question has always remained open. The issuance of a decision by the Supreme Court can help in the formation of a certain legal approach,” hopes Irina Gritsenko.

Evgeny Timakov, pediatrician, infectious disease specialist, head of the Leader Medicine medical center, agrees with the position of the Ministry of Health: “The vaccine is in the third phase of clinical trials. It is registered under an accelerated procedure and is recommended for epidemiological indications. Accordingly, its use must be agreed with the parents.

It should be noted that according to the latest statement on this subject by the Minister of Health of the Russian Federation Mikhail Murashko, by mid-February, 60,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years old had been vaccinated with Sputnik M in the country. In addition, on June 9, the director of the Gamaleya Center, Alexander Gintsburg, announced that vaccination of children aged 6–11 years has started in Moscow as part of clinical trials.

Natalya Kostarnova