Divorced parents take vax disagreement to court

A Paphos family court has rejected a father’s request that his two daughters be allowed to be vaccinated and travel abroad, siding with the mother who refused to give parental consent to her ex husband.

(Click here for an update to the story)

According to local media, the first court case in the Republic of Cyprus regarding vaccination of children emerged in Paphos after a judge heard about a divorced couple’s disagreement over whether their teen daughters should be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

It was reported by Philenews that the father of the two girls filed a case with a Paphos court in early August, seeking a decree that would allow his daughters to travel with him to his native country as well as get vaccinated over their mother’s refusal.

The court heard from the father that he wanted to take his daughters to visit family in his home country, including their grandmother who was sick, saying the girls wanted to maintain ties with their dad's side of the family.

But the mother raised objection, telling the court it was a bad time for her daughters to travel amid a pandemic, citing increased risk of getting sick, having to quarantine, or even missing school at the start of classes in the fall.

The plaintiff cited a Cabinet decision a month earlier in July as well as sources such as World Health Organization and European Medicines Agency, all claiming COVID vaccinations in children over 12 would be beneficial for their health.

But the mother also claimed that a medical doctor had advised her on the issue regarding what possible impact a COVID vaccination could have on the girls’ health.

The judge noted that no witness testimony was provided during the hearing that could allow the court to reach a safe decision.

“I note that the Court is not in a position to act as an expert on medical issues,” the judge said in the final ruling.

It was also stated that had there been a medical expert opinion and if all the facts both for and against could be weighed during trial, the court would have formed a better view, citing other cases where experts had testified in cases regarding government restrictions and Safe Pass measures.