Exclusive: Costa Rican attorney who led fight to revoke child vaccine mandates tells Frontline News how he did it
In a hearing last month in Costa Rica's Court of Appeals for Administrative Litigation, attorney Arcelio Hernández Mussio succeeded in revoking the country's vaccine mandate for children under 12 years of age. Hernández, a lawyer and notary public with more than 22 years of professional practice, is a member of the Washington-based Inter-American Bar Association (IABA), as well as the Costa Rican Bar Association.
In an exclusive interview, Hernández told Frontline News how the entire legal effort began in November, 2021, when the injections were set to be declared mandatory. On November 4th, the Costa Rican National Vaccination Commission made the pediatric vaccine mandatory, seemingly in a hurry since it took place five days after the FDA granted its Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).
Hernández - father of five children - was concerned for two of his children in that age group, along with other responsible parents also concerned about their children’s safety. “I started to search a bit”, Hernández explains, “and I got hold of the meeting protocol where it is said that at the moment they do not even have documentation from Pfizer, that is, they did it blindly. As soon as the FDA gave their EUA they made it mandatory. That made me question if they really made a decision based on science.”
Previously, Hernández had filed an appeal for constitutional protection before the Constitutional Chamber, which was accepted as welcome news in the country for those who followed the process with interest - because it's difficult to pass the admissibility requirements. In a Facebook post, Hernández called for the first demonstration in front of the Constitutional Chamber at the beginning of January 2022, and when other groups also invited people as a joint effort, around 1,000 parents gathered.
Health Ministry irregularities
The Constitutional Chamber had requested reports from the Health Ministry on three occasions, as the investigating judge was interested in the subject, but Ministry answers were incomplete. She wanted to know details like why Costa Rica was mandating vaccinations while United States - headquarters of the FDA - was not. Their answer was that since Costa Rica is “a sovereign country, we can do it”. Hernández calls their answer pedantic, pretentious, arbitrary, and lacking foundation.
Judges neglect case
In March 2022, the judges answered the appeal for constitutional protection. A majority of five of the seven judges decided the Constitutional Chamber could not hear the issue since it was a long case, but if they wished, they could turn to the Administrative Litigation Office.
The news caused great dismay to many. However, Hernández comments, “this appeal for constitutional protection was a very important precedent because although people did not realize it, the Chamber did not rule on the main argument - whether or not it was premature to make this vaccine mandatory with just an EUA.
“I began to file lawsuits from groups of parents: first 125, then 200, and at the end there were 500 families represented in those contentious procedures. The third claim was dealt with more quickly, but the first instance judge rejected the measure. So, I applied for a provisional relief. The hearing was on November 18, 2022.
“The court paid attention --- was very attentive --- the meeting was a success!” commented Hernández with satisfaction. “The whole group of parents was able to participate in the virtual hearing. The court gave me 15 minutes to present the case. I spoke for more than 32 minutes without interruption. They were very interested and paid close attention; they understood what I was saying: That an Emergency Use Authorization is not the same as a formal approval from the FDA. That even the pediatric studies are still in progress and would only end in 2023 or 2024.”
The Health Ministry published on social media that they would respect the provisional relief.
Hernandez continues: “The success of the Costa Rican people is that we won a judicial proceeding, and those who try to deny it must understand that the measure has to be complied with; there is no way to avoid it because it is a judicial order. There are many ignorant people who have not read the resolution on the precautionary measure, which has no further recourse.
“While the ordinary process lasts, which can be years, the precautionary measure will remain in force”, he assured and added: “A year ago, we spent 11 days in front of the presidential house reminding the president of his campaign promises, that he was going to revoke the mandate. He never did it. Now we are in a different position, we already have a court order that he has to respect, [our] position is different now.”
Attorney Hernandez concluded: “This is not about a group or a name. This is the effort of a family man joined by thousands of responsible parents. It is an achievement for the children, a victory for the parents of Costa Rica.”
