Mexican Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell has indirectly accused parents who have filed court injunctions in a bid to get their offspring vaccinated against Covid-19 of being selfish.
“Vaccinating a minor means taking a dose from a person with a higher risk of Covid-19,” he said at a press conference this week. “Vaccination against Covid-19 is not intended for individual protection, but for protection of the population,” he continued. “This may be difficult (for parents) to understand … but the vast majority of public health interventions are like this, because the collective good is the goal.”
Judges in several states have ruled in favor of parents who have taken legal steps to get their children inoculated, following growing calls throughout the country for jabs to be made available to youngsters aged from 12 to 17.
Many countries have now opened up their vaccination programs to include this segment of the population. In recent weeks, with the start of the school year beckoning, various European Union nations reported high numbers of 12- to 17-year-olds requesting the vaccine.
One judge in Jalisco last week issued a ruling ordering health authorities in this state to vaccinate 12 children whose parents had filed an amparo (injunction). However, as of press time the jabs had not been administered, the Notisistema news agency reported Tuesday.
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