Baby in joint care with local authority to be vaccinated despite mother’s objections

A High Court judge has given permission for a baby involved in care proceedings to be vaccinated despite his mother’s objections.

Both the London borough of Barnet and the baby’s mother, named only as TL, have joint parental responsibility for the seven month old child, SL, under an interim care order. Barnet has brought proceedings to take him and his three older siblings into care, and a final hearing is due later this year.

The council wants SL to have the haemophilus influenza type B (Hib) vaccine and the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV). The mother objects, although she has allowed SL to be given other vaccines. SL’s father has not yet been identified.

Mr Justice MacDonald, who heard the …