Staten Island Student Wrongly Administered Swine Flu Vaccine
A Staten Island student, who did not have parental consent, was given the swine flu vaccination by New York City Department of Health staff members. A similar incident occurred in Brooklyn just days earlier.
Although health officials have assured the community that the swine flu vaccine is safe, many parents have angrily objected to any attempt to forcibly vaccinate their children. The non-consented vaccination amounts to a medical battery committed by the staff members who administered the vaccine. We are entitled to make our own decisions about what care we choose to receive. We speak for our children. Whether you agree or disagree with the swine flu vaccination program, it is still your right to chose.
What is especially troubling is the fact that the parental consent forms were not checked by DOH staff. Although I believe the vaccine to be safe, some have alleged that they have suffered unusual reactions after being vaccinated. Whether these reactions are ultimately determined to be related to the swine flu vaccine or not, it is still a parent’s choice to subject their child to that risk. I am offended at the canned response by the DOH in stating that the students suffered no ill effects and that the administration of the vaccine was a “misstep.”
Any vaccination must be carefully considered and could cause a potentially harmful reaction in these children. Since the consent forms were not present, how the DOH staff could not know if the children were allergic to eggs, a common question asked to all recipients of the flu vaccine.
