Islington Council wins right to vaccinate baby after High Court ruling

A council has won a High Court battle to vaccinate a baby against his mother’s wishes.

Islington Council has faced a legal challenge from one of its residents after she ensured her eight-month-old daughter received routine vaccinations while the child was in its care.

The mother, known only as Mrs. S, had refused vaccinations because she believed there was a link between vaccines and autism – a claim that science does not support.

At the High Court, Mr Justice McDonald ruled that not vaccinating the girl would put her at risk of childhood illness “at a very young age when she remains vulnerable”, and agreed with the local authorities.

The baby, known only as P, has been in the care of north London council since February amid concerns his mother could not meet his and his older siblings’ basic care needs.

In July, the board proposed that the child remain with her mother in the family home under her supervision, until a decision was made whether or not she would be permanently removed from her mother’s care.

Meanwhile, the mother refused to vaccinate her daughter.

After the council made the appointment, out of concern for the child’s welfare, Ms S brought a claim against the local authority in the High Court in an attempt to stop the appointment.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service reports that the mother told the court that she believed in the links between vaccines and autism or ADHD, and that she believed ethnic minority children were affected by vaccines.

She also said she had seen evidence online that 4,500 children had died from preventable diseases and considered this a low risk compared to the country’s large child population.

At the High Court hearing, Mr Justice McDonald “gently insisted” to the mother that there were no scientific studies proving the link between autism and vaccinations.

But Ms. S. maintained that she still had the right to decide, arguing that her daughter was “too small to be vaccinated with all these chemicals.”

She added that she might consider letting her child receive the vaccines if she was older.

The Children Act 1989 gives local authorities the power to ensure that children in care are vaccinated even if their parents object.

Although there is no law requiring children to be vaccinated, the NHS strongly urges parents to follow its routine vaccination schedule for babies under one year old, starting at eight weeks, to protect against diseases such as measles, tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough.