CR, Re [2021] EWCOP 19

The court authorised the Applicant to administer the Covid-19 vaccine to the P against the wishes of the P's father.

The P is 31 years old.  He has been diagnosed with a lifelong severe learning disability, autism and epilepsy and is also very overweight. The professionals involved in the P's care all shared the opinion that it is in his best interests to have the vaccination. The P's father opposed the application for several reasons including the speed with which it had been developed and approved. He also agreed that (in part) his concerns were linked to the (now) discredited theories proposed by Dr Andrew Wakefield as regards the link between autism and the MMR vaccine,  and which he still believed were accurate. 

The court made the declaration sought. The reasons for opposing the administration of the vaccine had no clinical evidence base.

Read the full text of the judgment on Bailii