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Vax the kids? A bitter dispute for separated couples
Family attorneys say the CDC decision has opened the floodgates for divorce and litigation.
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A child receives a dose of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine at an event launching school vaccinations in Los Angeles, California on November 5, 2021. (AFP/Frederic J. Brown)
M
ichael Thompson, a 47-year-old executive recruiter from Illinois, expects his former wife to take him to court over vaccinating their two children against Covid-19.
He doesn't trust the vaccine for children, but she wants to follow US health guidelines and have their eight-year-old and 10-year-old inoculated.
It is a clash repeated among separated families across the United States, where widespread vaccine hesitancy has thwarted efforts to end the pandemic despite injections being free and easily available.
"I'm vaccinated, but I don't feel the need for my kids to get the vaccine until it's been proven more," Thompson told AFP. "We don't know the long-term effects for kids."
Thompson says this week's decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to approve the Pfizer vaccine for children aged five and over appeared rushed.
And he is ready for a costly fight against his ex-spouse.
"She's pushing back against me and will likely take me to court, which will cost me between $5,000 and $10,000. But to me it's worth it," he said.
