Dozens of Costa Ricans demonstrate against vaccination of children

Around a hundred people demonstrated Wednesday in Costa Rica against mandatory childhood vaccination against covid-19.

“Our objective is that under no reason the vaccination of children and youngsters should be decreed as mandatory, this should be a decision of the parents who are responsible for them”, said Rafael Rivas, one of the demonstrators, in front of the Constitutional Court building in the capital, San José.

In mid-December, the entity refused to annul the government directive requiring the immunization of children over five years of age. 

The appeal for the annulment had been filed by some 100 citizens who argued that the vaccine puts health at risk due to “toxic substances” it contains. 

The Constitutional Chamber concluded at that time that “the obligatory nature of the vaccine puts into effect the necessary protection of the human right of every child to health and the protection of the best interests of the minor and safeguards the public health”.

In spite of this, the opposition group chanted slogans of “freedom, freedom!” and carried banners with slogans such as “Leave the children in peace”, “I have the right to say no” and “I don’t graphene on children”. 

Even children participated and one of them showed a sign with the phrase “I don’t want to be vaccinated”. 

People between 12 and 19 years old have a vaccination percentage of 88.7% with one dose and 73.8% with two doses, according to figures from the Costa Rican Social Security Fund. 

Children between 5 and 11 years old have not yet started the immunization process, which is expected to begin in mid-January or early February, according to the Costa Rica government.

The situation comes in the midst of a 167% increase of cases in one week in Costa Rica, driven by the arrival of the highly contagious omicron variant and the Christmas celebrations.