Businesses can require vaccination for children, despite province not doing so: law professor

With Alberta Premier Jason Kenney coming out and saying kids aged five to 11 won’t be required to have their COVID-19 vaccine to enter businesses, the question being asked: why not?

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Legally speaking, there’s nothing stopping businesses from mandating the vaccine themselves.

If a business decides a kid has to have their vaccine to enter, it doesn’t matter whether or not the province agrees.

“There’s nothing legally that makes an 11-year-old different than a 12-year-old in terms of including them in vaccine requirements,” explained Professor Lorian Hardcastle, who specializes in health law and policy at the University of Calgary. “I think though, that of course, it’ll just be a matter of how many people get these vaccines and what other businesses start to do.”

Hardcastle says adults had quite some time to decide if they wanted the vaccine and to get it before requirements came into place.

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So, businesses that decide to require vaccines for younger children will likely not do it for a while.

Hardcastle compared it to what the province did with team sports.

“We may see some private businesses go more strict on the vaccines and include the under twelves in their requirements to use that business. I’m not sure if we’ll see those right away or those will start to happen as the vaccine becomes more commonplace.”