A New Zealand Family Court judge has ordered a young child to be vaccinated, despite the girl's father objecting to the practice.
The four-year-old girl hadn't received her usual vaccinations growing up, however a legal debate erupted because she had three technical guardians.
The girl was legally under the care of her mother, father and the chief executive of Oranga Tamariki, which is New Zealand's Ministry for Children.
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Her father introduced his first objection to his daughter getting the jab in 2019 and filed an objection with the Family Court in Blenheim that he didn't want to her to be put into a 'forced vaccination programme'.
The father took issue with the idea of mandatory vaccinations on the account that he wasn't vaccinated as a child and expressed his concern over what was in the jab.
According to the New Zealand Herald, he believed the human body was fully capable to tackle any major health threat because it had a sufficient natural immune system.
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He also told the Family Court that he hasn't been able to get his hands on enough research about vaccinations that would sway his thinking.
Despite this, the four-year-old girl's mother consented to her baby getting the vaccinations and she even received the jab when she was pregnant.
However, Oranga Tamariki was forced to intervene because it was also legally responsible for the child and it follows the Ministry of Health guidelines.
Those guidelines stipulate that young children need to be vaccinated against rotavirus, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough, pneumococcal disease, measles, mumps, and rubella, chicken pox, and human papillomavirus.
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The battle that first started in 2019 has raged all the way to today (March 18) and it hasn't worked out well in the father's case.
Judge Richard John Russell found no personal or health factors for the young girl that would prevent her from getting the jab.
As a result, he has ordered for her to be vaccinated.
The girl's GP has been told to work out the best timing strategy for the girl to get the vaccinations, especially considering they are usually well spaced out when the child is a baby or toddler.
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