A B.C. father of two young boys now has the right to have them immunized following a year-long court battle with the children’s mother regarding vaccinations.
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In late December, in Salmon Arm, a B.C. judge ruled that the father should have sole responsibility for medical and dental treatments for his two young sons.
The father and mother ended their relationship approximately two-and-a-half years ago. The father went to court after the mother refused consent for certain vaccinations and opposed dental x-rays, resulting in extensive dental work for the older boy.
During court proceedings, the mother offered a report from Dr. Toni Lynn Bark, an American who describes herself as an expert in the study of adverse vaccine reactions. In her judgment, Stella Frame says Bark admits the field is unrecognized by medical professionals.
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Judge Frame instead accepted most of the material provided by the father, including two B.C. Supreme Court rulings. She said the father must keep the mother informed but is now responsible for all the boys’ medical and dental treatments.
Frame’s decision, delivered at the end of December, highlights the ongoing battle between those who support childhood vaccinations against infectious diseases, such as measles, mumps and whooping cough, and those who question vaccine safety.
On Thursday, Global News contacted the father and mother. For privacy concerns, Global News isn’t disclosing any names.
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Asked about the case, the father said he and his former partner “never came to an agreement on which way we were going to go [regarding vaccinations].
“The communication for the vaccination side of it, there was none. And it came to a point where I said to myself, ‘I’d like to get them vaccinated.’”
The father said he talked to Interior Health and was informed that the mother had placed a notice on the children stating she was against vaccinations.
“[Interior Health] would not vaccinate without either A) us agreeing to get them both vaccinated in writing, or B) have a court order,” he said.
“Once I found that out, I knew we weren’t going to agree, so I knew the only route was going to be going to court and seeing if we could settle.”
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The mother, in an emotional call, said she’s “not OK” with the ruling.
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The mother said “both parents should do it together,” while also telling Global News she did not have legal representation and asked twice to have the case adjourned so she could find a lawyer.
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The mother said she fears she’s being made out to be a negligent parent.
“We have two different opinions,” she told Global News. “He feels he’s protecting his boys one way and I feel I’m protecting our boys the other way.
“Like it said in the court case, I’m not opposed. I just want to be overly cautious and this whole war on anti (vaccine) … it’s ridiculous.
“I feel it’s the biggest form of bullying that’s going on right now.”
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“Why don’t people do all these tests just to make absolutely sure that there’s not going to be a problem and do preservative-free vaccines? Things can go wrong.”
Global News asked if she plans to appeal the decision, but was told she’s not at liberty to discuss this at this time.
In rejecting the mother’s submission of Bark’s report and the doctor’s qualification as an expert in what is called vaccine adversomics, Frame sides with public health officials, writing “the current best evidence is that vaccination is preferable to non-vaccination.”
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“It is difficult to know whether this is junk science or a recognized emerging field,” Frame wrote of Bark’s report on adversomics, adding that the document sounds more “like a conspiracy theory” as it is presented.
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Frame takes special aim at the report’s claim that targeted infectious diseases pose a low risk to the population, while vaccine trials produce a high number of adverse effects.
“One of the diseases that (Bark) claimed is very low risk to contract is measles. That is simply not the case,” Frame wrote.
Her judgment quotes from a 2012 B.C. Supreme Court decision examining the question of immunization. The ruling relied on expert Dr. David Scheifele, a leading B.C. pediatrician specializing in childhood diseases.
“If overall vaccination rates slip, infections previously held at bay can return to cause outbreaks among susceptible children and adults,” Scheifele testified, adding that measles or chickenpox infections are often worse in unvaccinated teens or adults.
In giving the father sole control of his boys’ medical and dental needs, Frame says both are healthy and active.
They are also not among a small group of patients who should not be vaccinated due to weakened immune systems, illness or other issues, she added.
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Vaccination of the majority is required in order to protect those who cannot be vaccinated, wrote Frame.
“Any adverse reaction the person may have from the vaccine is largely outweighed by the risk of contracting the targeted disease.”
The father added his former wife is a great mother to their children, and that they’re always safe, but that “the biggest thing I wanted out of this was to get them vaccinated.”
The father said he was somewhat surprised by the court granting him medical responsibility, stating he originally thought about applying for that but chose not too upon legal advice.
“I feel as a parent, having joint custody, that my view on (vaccinations) should have been taken into account as well as hers,” he said. “Really, if you’re an anti-vaxxer and you say something to Interior Health, nothing will be done.
“I think that’s completely backwards. I think if you don’t want to have them vaccinated, you should have to fight for that. You shouldn’t have to fight to have them vaccinated.”
The father plans on having the children vaccinated soon, while the mother said she doesn’t know what’s going to happen.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
