Father cleared of vaccine failure

A FATHER has been cleared by a court of failing to vaccinate his child against diphtheria, tetanus and polio.

Mickaël Lecomte had appeared at the tribunal correctionnel at Strasbourg charged with ‘not helping a person in danger’.

The case had been raised by a doctor at the international vaccination centre which had become aware of the child’s lack of protection when Mr Lecomte had visited ahead of a trip to join his wife in Gabon.

"We saw five doctors, we saw the PMI [Protection maternelle et infantile] and we were interviewed separately by the brigade des mineurs as if we were terrorists,” said Mr Lecomte told France Bleu.

The DTP vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and polio is mandatory in France for children under 18 months.

Mr Lecomte, who described the doctors as “ruthless” was cleared of wrong-doing by the court as the child was only 14 months old at the time the complaint was made, leaving four months in which he could have been vaccinated.

“I’ve read a lot of books, a lot of articles on the subject. I’m not subject to any dogma. I’m not just fighting for myself, but for my son. Today there are parents who cry, who live with the handicap of their child. You need to think of them. I pay attention to my son,” he said during an interview on France Bleu Alsace.