Parents who refused to allow their sick baby to receive a transfusion with Covid-vaccinated blood may have their wishes overruled by a court.
New Zealand's national health body has applied to take guardianship of the four-month-old boy because his parents won't let him undergo the operation to save his life if unvaccinated blood is used.
In an interview with an anti-vaccination campaigner, the parents revealed the boy suffers with severe pulmonary valve stenosis.
They add the infant is in critical condition and needs surgery "almost immediately" - but that they're worried about "the blood [the doctors] are going to use".
The dad explained: “We don’t want blood that is tainted by vaccination.
“That’s the end of the deal – we are fine with anything else these doctors want to do.”
The vaccines have been found to be "very safe and very good at preventing serious or fatal cases of COVID-19", the US Centers for Disease Controls says.
NZ Blood has also asserted that any remaining traces of the vaccine are broken down quickly after the injection, meaning there are minimal amounts left in the blood.
The health service, Te Whatu Ora, has filed papers in Auckland's High Court asking to take over the baby's guardianship so that vaccinated blood can be used to save the child's life, according to the NZ Herald.
“The decision to make an application to the court is always made with the best interests of the child in mind and following extensive conversations with whānau,” said Dr Mike Shepherd, the interim director at Auckland's health service.
“As this matter is before the courts, we will not be commenting further.”
One-hundred anti-vaxxers gathered outside the court in Auckland on Wednesday as parties inside decided on a date for an urgent hearing.
Paul White, lawyer for Te What Ora, said that under normal circumstances, a child with a similar condition would have been treated several weeks ago.
Meanwhile, the parents' lawyer Sue Grey said they wanted better care than what is on offer.
Ms Grey - who is another prominent anti-vaccine campaigner - says her clients wishes are being disregarded because they've been branded "conspiracy theorists".
She said: "Because they label my clients as conspiracy theorists, [their position] is that anything my clients say can be ignored."
NZ Blood said: "All donated blood also gets filtered during processing, so any trace amounts that may still be present poses no risk to recipients.
“We do not separate or label blood based on a donor’s Covid-19 vaccination status.”
University of Otago bioethics lecturer Josephine Johnston said this type of case was distressing for all parties.
She told RNZ : "Parents have a lot of decision-making authority over their child’s life – there’s a huge zone of discretion for parents to make decisions including about medical issues.
“But there are limits to that, and this is one of those tragic cases where the limit has life and death consequences.”
