Ecuadorian judge rejects vaccine mandate petition

Ecuadorian Judge Luis Saltos Pinto last week rejected a demand by Ecuadorian human rights organizations on behalf of children and youth, calling to halt the country’s mandatory vaccine campaign against polio, measles, and rubella. The mandate was imposed by the Ecuadorian Health Ministry on May 2nd.

The mass vaccine operation commenced simultaneously in all the country's provinces, after the Health Ministry detected a case of measles in the city of Ibarra. The Ministry goal is to inject around 3.7 million children between 1 and 12 years of age in 10 weeks.

Ecuador Human Rights organization legal representative Attorney William Sánchez stated: "Let us remember that without any support or scientific basis the Ministry announced, then launched, an indiscriminate vaccine campaign for children up to twelve years of age."

With respect to the evidence presented at the hearing, Sánchez added: "Despite the evidence and arguments, Judge Luis Saltos Pinto on May 22 ruled against the law, saying that the Ministries of Health and Public Education have not violated rights, giving permission to the aforementioned government departments to continue vaccinating by force.

"Our objective is to enforce the Constitution and the law so that not a finger be lifted against our children without free, informed consent signed by their parents, since this is an inalienable right," he explained.

On May 9, the ODHE Human Rights Organization organized a peaceful march in the city of Guayaquil to demand that Health Minister Dr. José Ruales suspend the mass vaccine campaign, and that free and informed consent by parents, prior to injection, be respected. 

Organization representative Engineer Glenda García told Frontline News: "The campaign is a hoax because they aren’t respecting parental consent, they’re vaccinating children left alone in educational centers.”

She also pointed out that they are requesting that "the Health Minister, who has fallen into contempt of court, comply and deliver the contracts that were requested through the administration and then in court," adding that in an interview, Ruales "was already speaking of bivalent vaccines and measles campaigns.”

At the same time the Judge's sentence emerged, Ecuador media reported 20 children in the city of Sangolquí had negative reactions after receiving the polio, measles, and rubella vaccines.