Featured Image Credit: famveld / Alamy. Tony Tallec / Alamy.
Topics: Coronavirus, News
Jayden Collins
A New Zealand father has been banned from seeing his three kids until they get the Covid-19 vaccine.
The Kiwi dad was firmly opposed to the children receiving the jab, however their mother, who is a healthcare worker, was strongly advocating for it.
The couple are separated and in November 2021 the mother restricted all contact between the children and the father.
The dad refused to get the vaccine because he didn't trust it, according to the New Zealand Herald.
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The family's identity has been censored due to the children's ages.
The matter was taken to the family court in February, with Justice Anthony Greig ruling the father wouldn’t be allowed to see his children until they had been vaccinated.
The children are aged 8,11 and 12, with the middle child deemed to be at risk of severe difficulties if they contracted Covid-19 without being vaccinated.
In the court case, the father said he didn’t trust the vaccination and would not consent to the children getting the jab, despite medical advice saying he should.
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However, Judge Greig said the middle child's life was being put at risk by not getting the vaccine.
He said: “The risk of [child] developing serious illness in the event that he catches Covid-19 will be significantly diminished if he is vaccinated. The science in support of that contention is overwhelming.
"Indeed, if [the boy] was in the care of two parents who were refusing to vaccinate him, I would consider having him removed from their care until such time as he could be properly vaccinated.”
The judge also based his decision on the research adopted by the New Zealand government and governments across the world, that the Pfizer vaccine was safe to be administered to children.
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The father believed the mother was using the issue to her advantage to keep him from contacting the children.
He had proposed wearing a mask, sanitising his hands, and meeting with the kids outdoors in order to still have contact.
However, Judge Greig wasn’t willing to take that risk and ordered the children to be vaccinated ‘to their General Practioner’s satisfaction’.
He wrote (via the NZ Herald): "At the point that they have been fully protected this matter is to be referred back to me to review the position and, hopefully, reinstate [the father's] supervised contact. It should not take too many weeks.”
The case is now the third in New Zealand this year surrounding parental disputes and vaccines.
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An 11-year-old boy was ordered to receive the vaccine in Dunedin, while a judge let a 12-year-old from Whakatane make his own mind up about whether they wanted to get the jab.