How teens are using the internet to rebel against anti-vaxx parents and get the COVID-19 vaccine
By Kieran Press-Reynolds
Teens are creating memes on TikTok in reaction to their anti-vax parents.
A recent poll found that a quarter of US parents say they won't vaccinate their children.
To fight against anti-vax parents, teens are sharing vaccination resources on the internet.
Teens are posting memes on TikTok and writing threads on Reddit.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the COVID-19 vaccine for anyone 12 and up in May, but there are rules in place that make it difficult for minors to get vaccinated.
45 states currently mandate that 12- to 15-year-olds have consent from a guardian to get the vaccine, according to CNN. For 16- to 18-year-olds, it varies by state.
With those rules, there are many parents nationwide who are not letting their children get the jab. In June, the Kaiser Family Foundation, a public-health non-profit organization, found through polling that a quarter of American parents said they would "definitely not" vaccinate their children.
A 15-year-old named Marina who said her mother wouldn't let her get the vaccine told The New York Times in a recent article, "It sucks that I can't get the shot."
But some kids are rebelling. There's been a surge of teens using the internet to defy their guardians and protect themselves against the virus.
When a fan commented on a now-deleted video by the TikTok user @__s_h_a_y__ asking if they were "the only one with anti-vax parents who won't let [them get the vaccine]," the creator responded with a full-length video.
"No, you're not … a lot of people have been saying [that] in the comment sections," she said, going on to correct vaccine misinformation and encouraging viewers to share the information with their parents.
Another user, @sourandnasty, said in a popular TikTok that her parents thought the vaccine was "bogus," but that they decided to get the shot anyway.
"Make it make sense!" one viewer commented.
Meanwhile, some TikTokers crafted memes about what it's like to live with anti-vaccine parents, and how their parents scolded them for getting the vaccine.
Redditors are giving each other advice
Others are using Reddit to seek advice on how to get the COVID-19 vaccine without parental permission.
One user who said they have anti-vaxx parents and uses the handle "camel_in_a_can" posted a question thread on the subreddit for teenagers and received a couple of responses.
Reddit also helped 20-year-old Ethan Lindenberger, who in 2019 made a viral post seeking support because he said his parents believed that vaccines were a nefarious government scheme. Commenters encouraged him to get vaccinated and advised him on how to schedule doctor's appointments without parental permission.
In May, NBC News interviewed Lindenberger, who urged teens to "please get your [COVID-19] shots as soon as possible" and said that many teens with anti-vax parents face the difficult task of having to choose between getting a potentially "lifesaving" vaccine and risking homelessness.
VaxTeen.org is a hotspot for teen vax info
In addition to TikTok and Reddit, the website VaxTeen.org has become a central resource for teens looking to glean trustworthy COVID-19 vaccine information.
According to The New York Times, an 18-year-old named Kelly Danielpour launched the website two years before the pandemic. She created the site to help educate other teenagers and kids about laws regarding vaccination and consent.
“We automatically talk about parents but not about teens as having opinions on this issue," she told The Times. "I decided I needed to help ... I want teenagers to be able to say to pediatricians, 'Hey, I have this right.'"