A 3-yr-old boy in need of urgent heart surgery was refused service at three hospitals in three different countries because his parents have not accepted the COVID jab.
Last Thursday, the toddler was supposed to be airlifted to a hospital in Germany that could perform his heart surgery, but the day before the air ambulance arrived, authorities in Cyprus were notified that they could not perform the life-saving surgery because his parents had not received the COVID jab.
Politico EU reports – Cyprus suggested that the child could be accompanied by a legal guardian instead of his parents, but this suggestion was turned down.
A German health ministry official confirmed there is no rule that says hospitals cannot treat unvaccinated people, let alone children whose parents are not vaccinated. However, the official added that each hospital has its own restrictions and makes its own arrangements with patients.
“Health policies — including vaccination policies — and their concrete implementation are the responsibility of the member states, not the Commission,” said a spokesperson for the European Commission’s health department.
The Cypriot authorities tried to get specialized health centers in the United Kingdom and Israel to perform the operation but were turned down for the same reason given by Germany.
However, the child was airlifted to neighboring Greece on Saturday and will get the operation at a private hospital in Athens, according to the Cypriot health ministry’s director-general, Christina Yiannaki.
The 3-yr-old is now in neighboring Athens, Greece, awaiting surgery.
Sadly, several critically ill patients in the US face the same fate.
