Can parents refuse to vaccinate their children despite mandates from school officials?
The flu vaccine has been touted as a necessary and harmless protectant against the dangers of the flu virus – which can lead to significant health problems in the children, elderly and immunosuppressed. However, some are also skeptical of the vaccine’s potential side effects, and have refused to administer this particular inoculation to their children. Nevertheless, health officials in New York City have unilaterally decided that the flu vaccine is a necessary component to the state-run daycare and preschool system – and mandated that all enrollees accept the vaccination or face expulsion.
Fearing government overreach (as well as dangerous, unnecessary side effects), several New York City parents recently launched a lawsuit against the City – citing the unconstitutionality of mandatory inoculations. More specifically, parents are seeking an injunction against the city, contending that they “would be forced to violate the fundamental right to bodily integrity, among other fundamental rights, and inject their child with the flu shot against their desires and judgment.”
The ingredients in the influenza vaccine are readily available from the Centers from Disease Control – and clearly contain the chemical compound known as thimerosal, a.k.a. mercury.
In response to these mandates, the plaintiffs point out that the health officials implementing the regulations are unelected employees of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Board of Health – and that vaccine policies should be implemented by elected officials and representatives only. Moreover, parents assert that they would be irreparably harmed if the flu vaccine continued to be mandatory enrollment criteria for admission to city daycares, as children would miss out on the cultural and cognitive benefits of such early learning programs.
In the words of one of the plaintiffs, “[w]e should decide what is best for our children – not unelected individuals whom (we) can’t refuse to reelect or whom (we) don’t even know nor have any means to contact.”
Contact a vaccine injury attorney today!
If you are facing an unwarranted mandatory vaccination regiment, or believe your child may have been injured due to a vaccine, please contact Leah V. Durant today: 1-202-775-9200.