Court Orders Anti-Vaxxer Dad To Stop Sharing COVID-19 Vaccine Info With Son

A court in the Canadian province of British Columbia has ordered a local man to stop sharing any information about COVID-19 vaccines with his 11-year-old son after he claimed the jabs were "experimental" and objected to having his child vaccinated.

Kelowna provincial court Judge Cathaline Heinrichs, in a decision released this week, sided with the boy's mother, who wished to have the child vaccinated, CBC reported.

Both of the unnamed parents have guardianship over the boy following their separation in 2016, but the mother asked the court to allow the immediate vaccination of her son and to place limits on her former husband's contact with their child until he has received the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Penticton Herald.

The father argued the vaccine is "too new to know the long-term impacts," that his son had developed immunity from recently having COVID-19 and that the risk of harm from the vaccine "outweighs the possible benefit he may receive" from getting the jab.

The judge dismissed the father's evidence and noted that Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine was "safe and effective for use in both children and adults."

Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine is currently the only jab approved by Canadian health authorities for use on children aged between 5 to 11.

Heinrichs also refuted the father's claim that the vaccine was "experimental."

"[The father] thinks the vaccine is experimental, which it is not. It has now been applied globally on millions of people, with effective results," the judge said.

The father did not disclose his vaccination status, but he claimed there was no evidence to support his ex-wife's assertion that he was not vaccinated.

The father also claimed that "he and those in his household are hygienic and wash their hands, they maintain good immunity by consuming vitamins and healthy food and wear masks when required to do so."

However, the mother swore an affidavit that claimed her son reported that his father "has a fake vaccine passport to get into places that require proof of vaccination." The father was also spotted sitting at a local recreation center without a mask, the woman claimed.

Both the child's mother and her new partner — a firefighter — are fully vaccinated.

The father has since been ordered not to talk to his son about COVID-19 vaccination or to share any social media posts or other information about the vaccine and the disease with the child.

"While at age 11, [the boy] may start wading in to making medical decisions for himself, I am not satisfied that he has maturity to understand and appreciate the significance of the recommendations and public health orders made by the public health office nor the psychological, emotional and social benefits of receiving the vaccination," Heinrichs wrote.

The judge allowed the boy's mother to discuss vaccination with the child, but neither parent is allowed to speak ill of each other in front of their son whether the subject is their court battle or their differing views on vaccination.

Both parents are set to return to court in the summer to determine parenting responsibilities and parenting time.

Canada has reported a total of 3,160,017 COVID-19 cases and 35,118 virus-related deaths since the pandemic began, publicly available government data showed.