A court has ordered for a seven-month-old baby to be vaccinated against meningitis, against the wishes of the child’s mother.
The verdict was passed down in London’s High Court today, with Mr Justice MacDonald ruling that the vaccinations were ‘in the child’s best interests’.
It was recommended that the tot should receive the Hib and PCV vaccines, which protect against pneumonia as well as the bacteria that causes meningitis.
However, the unnamed mother didn’t want to have the vaccines administered, claiming that her older children had experienced adverse reactions including a swollen leg, an ear infection, and a rash after vaccination.
Social services stepped in and brought a legal case, appealing to the Family Division of the High Court to order for the vaccinations to be administered.
Justice MacDonald ruled in favour of social services’ plea, agreeing that failing to vaccinate the child would open him up to more harm.
He also said he was not convinced that the allergic reactions mentioned in relation to the mother’s older children had actually occurred.
The verdict was based primarily on evidence that Haemophilus Influenza Type b is a serious bacterial infection that usually attacks children under the age of five.
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