The court cited a lack of evidence and potential harm to public health. Image: Pixabay
Anti-vaxxers’ application to stop Covid vaccine slammed by high court
Pretoria High Court rejects the application of three non-profit organisations attempting to cease Covid-19 vaccinations in South Africa.
The court cited a lack of evidence and potential harm to public health. Image: Pixabay
The court cited a lack of evidence on Covid vaccines’ potential harm to public health, and ordered the applicants to cover the respondents’ legal costs, reported GroundUp.
The organisations in the application were Covid Core Alliance, Transformative Health Justice, and Free the Children – Save the Nation. The applicants sought a court order to cease and desist vaccinations through broad orders, and compel health authorities to conduct proper investigations into their effects.
Judge Davis rejected the application, stating that the applicants lacked the right to prevent others from being vaccinated based on their beliefs.
Covid vaccine benefits ‘outweigh the harm’
“It has not been established that the harm which the applicants aspire to prevent, actually exists, and even if it may exist in rare or exceptional cases, the benefit of vaccination far outweighs that harm,” he said.
The judgement went on to state that should the applicants wish to have vaccinations deregistered, they had alternative remedies available to them in terms of legislation.
The court noted the applicants’ allegations of “strange and unusual medical conditions” observed in vaccinated individuals, including changes to blood cell structure and foreign substances in the blood.
Witnesses, including doctors, alternative medicine practitioners, a neurosurgeon, and a gastroenterologist, were called to support these claims.
Lack of evidence
However, Judge Davis deemed the evidence lacking credibility and criticised the applicants for not including vaccine manufacturers in the application.
The Court highlighted the role of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAPHRA) in evaluating the safety and efficacy of vaccines. It added that the severity and frequency of side effects are crucial in how SAPHRA determines a medicine’s safety.
SAPHRA’s evidence showed that, between May 2021 and November 2022, 37.5 million vaccines were administered in South Africa, with only two deaths causally linked to the vaccine.
‘Disinformation campaign’
Dr. Nicholas Crisp, head of the vaccine program for the Department of Health, testified that the applicants’ evidence lacked scientific credibility. He said their sources were part of a worldwide disinformation campaign led by anti-vaxxers.
The court concluded that adverse events related to vaccines were not of catastrophic proportions and that the applicants had no right to deny individuals the choice to receive vaccinations.
Judge Davis deemed the application “manifestly unfair” and ordered the applicants to pay the legal costs of the respondents. Read the full judgment here.
