Bid to halt jabs for kids aged 12-17
THE Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, will hear an application today by the ACDP and other organisations to interdict the government from further administering Covid-19 vaccines to 12 to 17 year olds.
Meanwhile, Section27, which has joined the proceedings, is questioning the motives behind the application.
The ACDP and organisations such as Free the Children – Save the Nation and the Covid Care Alliance will ask the court for an interim order halting child vaccinations as they feel it is not in the best interests of children, pending the outcome of an internal appeal before the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority to completely stop the programme.
But Section27, which has been admitted as a friend of the court, said it would stand by the government in this argument. It is expected that many parents will gather outside court to voice their opposition to Covid-19 vaccinations for children.
Section27 said in its court papers: “We are concerned that the ACDP and its partners are not genuinely acting on behalf of the best interests of children whom they claim to speak for, but are instead motivated by making the roll-out of vaccines to teenagers a divisive ‘wedge issue’ aimed at attracting a conservative constituency.”
It will be argued on behalf of the organisation that now that schools have reopened fully, it is crucial that the adolescent vaccination programme be permitted to continue so that learners in overcrowded classrooms are protected from the worst effects of Covid-19.
The vaccination roll-out for children aged between 12 and 17 started on October 20 last year, where they are given a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine.