By John Klar

In 2021, Leo Politella's parents were specifically assured by their local Vermont public school officials that their 6-year-old son would not be vaccinated with a novel Covid-19 vaccine at an upcoming school clinic. Leo's father visited the school the week before to ask whether he should keep his son home the day of the vaccination clinic but was told he had nothing to worry about. He was not told that the school was competing with other public schools for cash "awards" from the state of Vermont based on rates of vaccination.

Leo was vaccinated against his will at the school's clinic the next week. He was given a name tag for another child (not in his grade or class), and when he vocally protested that he was not supposed to be vaccinated, he was told he had to have a shot. Workers distracted him with a toy and jabbed him.

If the school administrators were aware of the error, they didn't inform the family. Leo's mother, Shujen, was told by her young son he had been vaccinated and later saw the band-aid on his arm as proof. When Shujen visited the school to inquire, she was met with a lack of accountability. No one explained how this could have happened, and the school could not even state who was in charge of the clinic and responsible for what happened to Leo. Other questions are obvious: how did he get the wrong name tag? How did the child whose name was on the tag avoid being vaccinated twice? How does such a thing happen unless it is deliberate?