system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: Parental consent should not be required to get vaccinated, assuming the child expresses the wish to get the shot

Recently the COVID vaccine was approved for people aged 12-15 and I was surprised to learn that apparently it cannot be administered without parental consent. To me this is a very foolish policy which robs children of the opportunity to get themselves protected if they so insist. Here are my assumptions:

1. All vaccines are 99.99% safe for all age groups. There's basically no risk involved - you're more likely to get into a car accident on the way to the vaccination site than die from the shot.
2. Vaccines are at least somewhat protective from the virus so they do have a tangible effect on ones health
3. The government actively encourages everyone to get vaccinated and shuns anti-vaxxers (such as Joe Rogan) who tell young people to skip vaccinations
4. Parents have the right to control their children but don't have the right to deny them healthcare and vaccines count as healthcare. We wouldn't allow a parent to say "nah, don't try to resuscitate my kid - just let them die" so equivalently we shouldn't allow them to have a word in the vaccination process.
5. In theory kids might not understand what exactly they're doing by asking for the vaccine but it doesn't really matter as the vaccines have nothing but upsides. Even if the child wasn't able to fully "consent" to getting the shot, they will still benefit from the procedure no matter what.

Now, there are exceptions such as kids who can't take the vaccine due to being immunocompromised but in this case the parent should only be allowed to present paperwork proving that this is the case, not actually take the call on whether or not the vaccination will be allowed to proceed - that would be up to the doctors to decide.

CMV.
gpt
Where do you draw the line?  You said that a drug that's 99.99% safe to all age groups should be fine.  What about a drug 99% safe?  Or 90%?  Or 75%?  At what level of risk should the parent be responsible to make the decision again?