Court Grants Health Officials Guardianship Of Baby After Parents Refuse Life-Saving Heart Surgery If Vaccinated Blood Is Used

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A New Zealand court has granted health officials guardianship over a six-month old infant whose parents refused life-saving heart surgery if blood “tainted” by Covid vaccination is used, according to news reports, a landmark legal case in the country and part of an alarming and dangerous trend propelled by persistent misinformation about the shots’ effect on blood.

New Zealand’s health service is going to court to allow a child to have a lifesaving heart … [+] operation.

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Key Facts

A High Court judge ruled in favor of New Zealand’s health service, Te Whatu Ora, which asked the courts to transfer guardianship from the infant’s parents so consent may be given to use donated blood during necessary open-heart surgery, according to the New Zealand Herald.

The child’s parents had refused to grant consent for the operation unless blood given by unvaccinated people was used, describing vaccinated blood as “tainted.”

Justice Ian Gault said the decision, which only covers medical matters and lasts until the child has recovered from the operation, was in the baby’s “best interests.”

Gault rejected alternatives proposed by the child’s parents—including setting up a blood donation service of unvaccinated donors—as unviable, noting that there is no scientific evidence of any risk of blood transfusions using blood given by vaccinated donors.

New Zealand’s blood service says it does not separate or label donated blood by vaccination status and that any Covid-19 vaccine in the blood breaks down soon after injection, adding that all donated blood is filtered during processing so that any trace amount “poses no risk to recipients.”

The issue has become a focus of anti-vaccination protesters, who demonstrated outside of the courtroom.

Key Background

Blood has been a lightning rod for Covid-based fearmongering and misinformation since vaccines were rolled out. Self-proclaimed experts and campaigners, often with little to no relevant scientific or medical expertise, push the idea that Covid-19 vaccines somehow contaminate the blood, will impart Covid itself or pass on the side effects associated with vaccines, which are themselves often vastly overstated. No scientific or medical evidence supports any of these claims and there is an abundance of evidence demonstrating the Covid vaccines in widespread use are safe, effective and have helped save many lives. The issue is a global one and there are reports from around the world, including the U.S. and Canada, of people refusing blood from vaccinated donors.

Tangent

Misinformation surrounding the supposed impact of vaccination on blood made a resurgence last week with the release of “Died Suddenly.” The documentary, which sought to link excess deaths during the pandemic to vaccines, was riddled with false claims, poor evidence and unsupported conspiracies. It became a popular talking point on social media and has been widely criticized by experts. A key component of the film were blood clots found during autopsies, which it erroneously claimed were caused by immunization.

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