New York judge orders girl, 11, to get COVID vaccine, siding against child's scientist father in legal dispute with her mother
An 11-year-old girl has been ordered to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by a judge in upstate New York. The ruling sides with the child's mother and against the girl's father — who is a scientist and a professor, according to the New York Post.
The daughter is in the middle of a messy battle between the divorced couple. The mother — Jeannie Figer — wants to get her 11-year-old daughter vaccinated against COVID-19. She notes that the estranged pair's other two daughters — ages 17 and 19 — have already been vaccinated against COVID-19. However, the father — Donald Figer — was hesitant about allowing his youngest daughter to be vaccinated.
The father — who is reportedly vaccinated against COVID-19 — said he wants to wait for his young daughter to be vaccinated until more information becomes available on the long-term side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine on children.
He is reportedly a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The Rochester Institute of Technology lists Figer as the director of the Center for Detectors, and a professor in the College of Science with appointments in the Astrophysical Science and the Technology Ph.D. program and the Microsystems Engineering Ph.D. program. "He is a leader in developing and deploying new photon detection technologies," the school states.
Monroe County Supreme Court Justice Richard Dollinger said he was "somewhat perplexed that an accomplished scientist and professor would oppose a child vaccine authorized by the CDC and universally encouraged by state and local physicians and other health officials."
The judge said it "could be years before any researchers have exacting accounts of either the short or long term consequences of the administration of this vaccine on 11-year-old girls."
"Waiting — to be 'sure,' as the father asks — is simply untenable, when the specter of a killing or incapacitating disease is swirling in the environment surrounding this young girl," Judge Dollinger said. "The wait, requested by the father, could extend beyond the term of the virus, as scientists may never catch up to this ever evolving and elusive virus and variants."
"This Court, weighing the child's best interests, cannot wait for the vaccine's side effects or efficacy to be scientifically established beyond a reasonable doubt or even to the father's satisfaction," the judged ruled. "The imminent risk of contracting the disease is too high and the consequences of acquiring it potentially too dire."
The judge noted that Monroe County recently declared a state of emergency because of rising hospitalization rates related to COVID-19.
The judge sided with the mother, who is reportedly an attorney. He ordered the mother to schedule an "immediate appointment" for the child to be administered a COVID-19 vaccination "as soon as possible."
On Oct. 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for kids ages 5 through 11 years old.
This isn't the first time that COVID-19 vaccines have been front-and-center in legal disputes between divorces.
In August, a Chicago mother was temporarily stripped of her parental rights over her 11-year-old son by a judge because she was unvaccinated. The judge asked the woman what her vaccination status was during a child support hearing with her ex-husband. A judge rescinded the ruling weeks later.
'Creepy' Pfizer ad features young children saying kids who participated in COVID-19 vaccine trials are 'superheroes'
A new commercial from Pfizer characterized young children who participated in the COVID-19 vaccine trial as "superheroes." The controversial commercial from the multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation has been described by some as "creepy" and "propaganda."
On Monday, Pfizer released an ad on its social media accounts with the caption: "Superheroes come in all sizes. Watch as real kids express thanks to their superheroes; the 5-11 year old #Covid19 vaccine clinical trial volunteers. We're incredibly grateful to the trial participants and their families."
The commercial from Pfizer features young children wearing makeshift superhero outfits. The video is narrated by a child who says, "All of us want to be superheroes, and the most important heroes are those that help others."
"This year, thousands of kids like us around the world joined the COVID-19 vaccine trial, and when they did, they became our superheroes," the child says. "To all the kids who volunteered, we'd like to say, "Thank you!'"
Then various children are seen on the video thanking the kids who participated in the pediatric vaccine trials. The children thank the vaccine trial participants for their "courage," trying new things," and "the ability to save people."
One little girl calls the COVID-19 vaccine a "superhero shot."
"Fight coronavirus and help others," a little boy says in the ad.
"Thank you. You are our superheroes," the commercial concludes before the Pfizer logo appears.
Thank You! 5-11 Year Old Covid19 Vaccine Clinical Trial Volunteers www.youtube.com
Pfizer may have anticipated some backlash on YouTube, where the comments were disabled on the video.
TheBlaze journalist Daniel Horowitz wholeheartedly agreed with the congressman, "No Republican should get your vote in a primary if they haven't publicly sworn off funding from this evil company."
RedState managing editor Jennifer Van Laar simply said, "Brainwashing."
Economic researcher and futurist Chris Martenson wrote on Twitter, "This is awful. The message is beyond creepy ('you're special if you agree to allow adults to experiment on you'). I hate everything about this."
British political commentator Calvin Robinson stated, "Sinister. 'They're after your kids', another conspiracy theory proven to in fact have been a spoiler all along."
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 through 11. This week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) then recommended children get the vaccine. On Wednesday, a San Francisco health official said the city plans on enacting a vaccine mandate that would require children ages 5 to 11 to show proof of vaccination in order to enter various settings.
A Kaiser Family Foundation poll released last week found that only 27% of parents of 5-11 year-olds are "eager to get a vaccine for their younger child as soon as one is authorized, while a third say they will wait a while to see how the vaccine is working." There were 30% of parents who declared that they will not get their 5-11-year-old vaccinated against COVID-19.
"Parents' main concerns when it comes to vaccinating their younger children ages 5-11 have to do with potential unknown long-term effects and serious side effects of the vaccine, including two-thirds who are concerned the vaccine may affect their child's future fertility," the KFF stated.
In U.S. children ages 5-11, there have been 94 COVID-19 deaths (1.7% of all deaths among U.S. children ages 5–11) between Jan. 1, 2020, and Oct. 18, 2021, according to the CDC.
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