To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com.
The Facts
Mother and father have equal shared parental responsibility for
son
In early 2022, X was a ten-year-old child whose parents were no
longer together.
Under parenting orders made in 2019, X lived with his mother and
spent substantial and significant time with his father.
X's mother and father had equal shared parental
responsibility for X.
Parents fail to agree on son receiving Covid vaccine
In January 2022, with the start of the school year fast
approaching, X's mother wanted to vaccinate him immediately
against Covid-19.
His father had concerns and wanted to wait.
When they couldn't agree, the mother applied to the Federal
Circuit and Family Court of Australia for a determination on the
issue.
The sole question for determination before the court was whether
it was in X's best interests to be vaccinated against Covid
immediately, or to wait until there was more information available
about any possible long-term side effects in children of the Pfizer
Covid vaccine.
CASE A
The case for the mother
CASE B
The case for the father
It is in our son's best interests to be vaccinated now
against Covid-19.
X is a fit and healthy child with no underlying medical
problems. There is no reason that would qualify him for medical
exemption from vaccination and there is no reason to delay.
Although he is fit and healthy, our son does have a history of
respiratory disease, and I am concerned that this will put him at
increased risk of experiencing adverse health effects should he
contract Covid.
I am also concerned about the adverse social impact on X if he
is labelled at school as an "unvaccinated" child.
Vaccination is a common topic of conversation among his friends,
and he regularly raises this with me. He also tells me how worried
he is about coronavirus. Vaccination would be a good way to
alleviate this anxiety.
In addition to X, I have a three-year-old child and a
four-month-old baby. Vaccinating X is an important way to protect
my other children from potential transmission of Covid-19. It will
also help protect my 89-year-old grandmother when X visits
her.
As my expert witness Dr E has testified, while Covid illness is
frequently mild in children, the risks associated with infection
far outweigh the risks associated with vaccination.
Given all of the above, the court should order that X be
vaccinated with the Pfizer Covid vaccine now.
It is in our son's best interests to wait until there is
more information available about long-term side effects in children
of the Pfizer Covid vaccine.
The Pfizer Covid vaccine is only approved for provisional or
emergency use. Health advice continues to change rapidly
surrounding both Covid-19 and Covid vaccines. Once the vaccine has
been injected, there is no undoing it.
Covid-19 is a largely asymptomatic illness in children in our
son's age range, and as his mother has said, X is a fit and
healthy child with no underlying medical problems. Given the risk
of exposing X to unknown long-term adverse consequences by
vaccinating him now, waiting is the safer course of action.
Further, rushing to vaccinate our son is not an appropriate way
to manage relations with his peers.
I empathise with my ex-wife over her concerns for her other
family members. However, the question before the court is not what
is in the best interests of her other children or her extended
family. The question before the court is what is in the best
interests of our son.
The court should order that we wait to vaccinate X until there
is more information available about long term side-effects in
children of the Pfizer Covid vaccine.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
When a dispute of any kind is resolved, a "non-disparagement" clause is often included in the settlement agreement to prevent parties from adversely commenting publicly...
