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Now, Dr Michelle Fiscus, a pediatrician who served as the state’s medical director for vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization for two years, has said she is afraid for the people of her state – who are already at lagging behind in vaccination against the virus.
“It’s just amazing to me how absolutely political and egotistical our elected officials here are and how little they care about the people of Tennessee,” Fiscus told CNN in a telephone interview.
Fiscus said she and other health officials had been pressured, but the last straw was what should have been a trivial note citing Tennessee state law on whether the minors can obtain medical care without the permission of their parents.
In 41 states, minors must have the consent of a parent or guardian to be vaccinated, but Tennessee is one of five states that have a “mature minors doctrine” that allows health care providers decide whether a child has the capacity to consent to the vaccination themselves. .
Four other states and Washington, DC have set an age limit for a minor to decide without a parent or guardian.
Fiscus said all she did was share the memo which laid out decades-old state policy.
“One recipient of this memo was upset that, according to Tennessee Supreme Court case law, minors between the ages of 14 and 17 could receive medical treatment in Tennessee without their parents’ consent and posted the memo on social media. “Fiscus said in a statement.
“Within days, lawmakers contacted the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) with questions about the memo, with some interpreting it as an attempt to undermine parental authority. briefing note containing language approved by the General’s Office Advice that was sent to health care providers by the medical director of the state immunization program regarding the safeguards put in place 34 years ago by the Supreme Court of Tennessee to provide care for minors, ”she added.
“What happened between the publication of this memo and today when I was fired from my position as medical director of the immunization and vaccine-preventable disease prevention program at the Tennessee Department of Health , can only be described as bizarre. “
The Tennessee Department of Health has been called to testify before the state legislature, Fiscus said, and a frightened state health department has responded by halting vaccination awareness efforts.
The department told CNN via email that it couldn’t comment on the personnel issues.
“The legislature has just blown this mature minor doctrine completely out of proportion,” Fiscus said.
“Each of us should wake up each morning with a question in mind: ‘What can I do to protect the people of Tennessee from COVID-19? she wrote. “Instead, our leaders are putting up barriers to make sure Tennessee residents remain at risk, even with the Delta variant hitting us.”
Fiscus said she was concerned for the safety of residents of her state. “I am angry that public health is political in this state,” she told CNN. “Public health should never, ever be political,” she added.
“People all over the state government are afraid of losing their jobs because of it. We are not allowed to do what is fair and evidence-based and what is recommended by the CDC and others. national experts on how to handle this pandemic. As a result, our number of cases is increasing. We only have 38% of Tennessee residents vaccinated, and Delta is from our border states of Arkansas and Missouri.
Tennessee implemented a quick and organized vaccine until the issue became politicized, Fiscus said. “We were one of the best and fastest in the country,” she said.
Now, she said, the state has stopped any vaccination campaign involving children. “It is a public health failure to protect the people of Tennessee and that is what is wrong,” she wrote.
“Specifically, it was my job to provide evidence-based education and access to vaccines so the people of Tennessee could protect themselves against COVID-19. I have now been fired for doing just that.”
“Children and adolescents have the ability to understand and reason about low-risk, high-return health care interventions. State laws should therefore allow minors to consent to COVID-19 vaccination without parental consent, ”Larissa Morgan of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, Jason Schwartz of Yale University and Dominic Sist of the Ethics Department University of Pennsylvania medical and health policy wrote.
“In the context of vaccination, some older minors may have a more precise understanding of the risks and benefits of a vaccine than their hesitant guardians.”
Fiscus’ husband Brad Fiscus ran for a seat in the State House of Representatives as an Independent last fall and lost.
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