MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Court rules Uruguay may resume vaccination of children against COVID-19

The plaintiff lacked standing because he did not fall within the age group, the Appellate Court found

A Montevideo Court of Appeals Tuesday reversed a previous decision by a lower court halting vaccination of children aged between 5 and 13 years against COVID-19, Health Minister Daniel Salinas announced. The administration of these drugs will be resumed Thursday without prior appointments needed.

Judge Alejandro Recarey, who was on duty during the judiciary winter recess, had ordered July 7 to suspend “provisionally and temporarily” the use of these chemicals until “all the contracts for the purchase of these vaccines are published in full,” a “the composition of the substances to be inoculated,” and “a text is drafted to be provided to those responsible for the minors - that fully and clearly informs” of the possible adverse effects of these medications.

The Executive appealed this ruling. Tuesday's decision is final, meaning there are no higher courts for appeals to go on.

The Appellate Court found that the plaintiff, lawyer Maximiliano Dentone, lacked standing to seek an injunction and that Recarey's sentence had stepped onto the “spheres of other branches of government.”

In other words, the higher court's ruling was grounded on technicalities and did not delve into the alleged side effects of the drugs or the irregularities in the contracts that Dentone had invoked. “It does not seem reasonable that any subject can appear claiming to represent the diffuse interests of all children under thirteen years of age, taking into account the nature and entity of the rights involved,” Tuesday's ruling argued.

“Vaccines save lives,” Health Undersecretary José Luis Satdjian celebrated on Twitter, while Salinas thanked the Ministry's Legal team. Presidential Deputy Secretary Rodrigo claimed that “Justice prevailed.”

Presidential Secretary Álvaro Delgado, who had described Recarey's ruling as “nonsense,” stressed that vaccination “should not have been stopped,” while Defense Minister Javier García concurred: “Justice, common sense and science prevailed” against “an inexplicable ruling that took away children's rights to protect their health.”