Login
A British organization working on behalf of children on March 25 launched a legal challenge to the UK government’s COVID-19 vaccination recommendation for children 5 to 11 years old.
The Children’s Covid Vaccine Advisory Council (CCVAC), partnering with the Children’s Union, called the government’s policy “to extend a non-urgent offer” of the vaccine to the younger age group, beginning in April, “reckless” and “grossly irresponsible.”
The group also said the policy, announced last month, uses deceptive language.
According to the Children’s Union website:
“The weakness of the government’s position is signaled by the weasel word ‘offer’ — intended to imply freedom of choice when parents and children have been denied basic information on the vaccine … This is not informed consent, it is a gameshow offer.”
In a March 17 letter to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), lawyers for CCVAC (formerly known as CCVAG) summarized the facts of the case and the legal basis for the challenge.
The letter (sent in 2022, not 2021, as it states) was written on behalf of an unnamed mother and a group of health professionals.
Ross Butler, founder of the Children’s Union, told The Defender this type of letter is a requirement in the UK for launching a legal challenge. Its purpose is to summarize the group’s claim to try to avoid the need to issue court proceedings, or at least to narrow the issues of dispute.
Addenda to the letter further bolster the Children’s Union case by describing the risks and limited benefits of vaccination for children.
The legal team hopes to show that the vaccine:
- Is of no benefit to children or adults
- Has a demonstrable risk of life-changing injury
- May provoke many adverse reactions
- May cause serious harm or death
Aiming to “bring together responsible adults in the interests of children,” the Children’s Union enlisted British TV personality Beverley Turner to help raise funds for the legal challenge.
The challenge can’t go forward unless the group’s fundraising goal of £10,000 is met, Butler said. “It’s so important … because this is the only chance to force the government to account for this unprecedented policy.”
The group said it believes the government policy sets a dangerous precedent for the UK. As it states on its website:
“It is of vital importance that these arguments are made — and the government’s response recorded — to form part of an immutable public record.”
The JCVI, a group of independent experts charged with advising public health officials on vaccines, in the past opposed vaccination for children under 16, The Guardian reported in 2021.
