The Anti-Vaccination Disgrace By Rabbi Aaron E. Glatt, MD

shabbatiscoming

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 3:06 am

http://matzav.com/the-anti-vac.....ZYIxg

There is a small, yet very vocal and influential group of “anti-vaxxers” living in our heimishe communities. They should stop reading now, as they will not like what I have to say, will not listen to what I have to say, and will write personal non-scientific scathing diatribes against me. However, I hope the rest of Klal Yisroel keeps on reading this critically important pikuah nefashos article, which the Yerushalmi essentially states is a primary chiyuv of a rav to darshen.

“Measles Outbreak in New York City in the Orthodox Jewish Community” was the title of a letter sent last week by the Department of Health to physicians across the state. Unfortunately, this is only the latest such tragic headline among numerous similar and preventable outbreaks in recent months and years, in our communities, in the U.S., Eretz Yisroel and Europe. I was truly saddened, embarrassed and pained.

Almost all the cases of measles are directly related to someone (or many people) being unvaccinated and spreading their illness and ignorance to others. I am very sorry if that offends anyone, but my vaccinated, 2-year-old granddaughter just had to get an urgent premature second dose of MMR vaccine after being exposed in “gan” in Israel; her 5-month old brother, too young to be vaccinated, had to get a painful gamma globulin shot, because of such incorrect and dangerous medical views. Hashem yeracheim.

There is absolutely no one who disagrees with the psak that a parent is required to remove one’s child to safety when a danger is present. Indeed, this is part of the basis for the halachic ruling of HaRav Elyashiv zt”l, who viewed normal childhood vaccinations as being an obligatory part of parental obligations.

HaRav Asher Weiss, shlita, poseik for Shaare Zedek Hospital, says it is a mitzvah and chiyuv to get vaccinated, bringing a proof from the story of Sodom from this week’s Parsha. He further states that yeshivas have the right and even obligation to protect other students, and should not allow unvaccinated children into school. This is also the written psak of HaRav Yitzchok Zilberstein, shlita as well as the psak of HaRav Elyashiv, who ruled that parents have the right to have unvaccinated children excluded from class so as not to cause unnecessary risks for their children.

Many other gedolei Yisroel, including HaRav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l, HaRav Yehoshua Newirth, zt”l, and yibadeil bein chayim lechayim, HaRav J. David Bleich, HaRav Reuven Feinstein, HaRav Hershel Schachter and HaRav Mordechai Willig, shlita, have all ruled that there is no basis in halacha to suggest that vaccinations should be avoided. All strongly urge and support appropriate universal vaccination against the major childhood potentially fatal illness that are preventable.

Indeed, it is sheker (dishonest) to officially avow that Jewish law forbids vaccination, which is the only way in some states to avoid mandatory state vaccination laws by providing such a false attestation about our religion.

So why all the headlines, anguish and outbreaks among the “People of the Book?” Why did 180 children, 80 percent of whom were unvaccinated, die in the United States during 2017/2018 from flu, along with 80,000 adults? Why do yeshivas and camps have to close and stop learning because of mumps outbreaks? Why were six babies hospitalized with measles in the past month at Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv? Are we living in the 1950s?

In my humble opinion, as a community rav and board certified infectious diseases physician expert, it is because we somehow have forgotten to read the word of Hashem. Halacha states that if there is a dispute regarding whether a patient should eat on Yom Kippur, or if Shabbos desecration is necessary to save a life, the most competent and/or the majority of experts make the determination.

Regarding vaccination against the major vaccine preventable illnesses, both determinants (expertise and majority) are the same. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, all 50 state Departments of Health in the United States, the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society, the American College of Physicians, and every other major professional infection control organization in the world, clearly opine unanimously. Bar none – “leis man depalig” – there is no mumcheh (expert) organization that disagrees. The evidence is overwhelming that vaccination is the only way to control these preventable fatal diseases. Chasdei Hashem – no one dies anymore of smallpox; polio is almost wiped out – solely, and only because of very successful vaccination programs. Rachmana leztlan, why should anyone in 5779 die from measles???

Why are people not following these medical experts as halacha requires? Why are my (and your) precious children and grandchildren unnecessarily exposed to lethal illnesses, forced to take painful and additional medications and shots, because non-experts “believe” otherwise.

Imagine if parents were to insist their child come to school armed with a revolver. Would even the most ardent gun rights activist insist this is right? So why are we letting children come to our shuls, schools and camps spreading serious potentially life threatening illness that could have been prevented by vaccination?

All the major rabbinic organizations have rightly and strongly spoken out against physician assisted death; I myself also recently published on this subject. Therefore, I feel compelled to publicly speak out (again) against “non-vaccination assisted death”, a cause which unfortunately does not get enough similar support. Please ask your Rav to speak about this on Shabbos – it is a matter of pikuach nefashos.

Rabbi Aaron Glatt, MD, FACP, FIDSA, FSHEA, is Chairman of Department of Medicine, Chief Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiologist at South Nassau Communities Hospital; Clinical Professor of Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Assistant Rabbi, Young Israel of Woodmere.

eli7

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 5:13 am

Thank you for posting this!

I'm glad to see the issue of needless medical intervention in healthy, vaccinated children who are exposed to these illnesses mentioned among all the other (many more severe, of course) dangers that arise from vaccine refusal.

amother

Black

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 6:25 am

Rabbi Glatt is my cousin's father-in-law. The kids referenced in the article are my cousin's kids. Hashem yeracheim, I'm scared for them now!

I never realized that there are such major psakim which say that you need to vaccinate. How do such "frum" people justify going against the rulings of R' Elyashiv?!

amother

Saddlebrown

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 6:37 am

This article addresses one side and one side only. No clue who rabbi glatt is but there are some major poskim that hold you don't need to. There is also a ruling staying a school is NOT ALLOWED to not accept a kid because of it. There are some very very real and very very scary side affects if that shot. The article does not address it at all. I have zero respect for this "Rabbi".

amother

Saddlebrown

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 6:38 am

In addition doctors don't learn about shots they just follow cdc. They are not taught about them at all.

amother

Black

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 6:40 am

amother wrote:

He is the assistant rabbi of the Young Israel of Woodmere. But either way, he is also a major doctor at a hospital in the 5 Towns, and an infectious disease expert.

And if the side effects are real? MEASLES is real, and deadly. You need to do a risk-benefit analysis. The risks of the disease itself outweigh the risks of the side effects!

But you know what, I'm talking to the walls. Anti-vaxxers have closed their eyes and ears to the truth. Nothing will change that.

amother

Black

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 6:41 am

amother wrote:

In addition doctors don't learn about shots they just follow cdc. They are not taught about them at all.

He is an expert of infectious diseases. Hello? You think he hasn't learned about vaccines? He's not your typical pediatrician who might not know.

amother

Saddlebrown

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 6:43 am

amother wrote:

Measles is most of the time not a deadly disease at all. I don't wish it on people but it is not considered deadly in a healthy person.
It's amazing how there is such a stinkinh uproar against the "anti" vaxxers when half of the "pro" vax adults are not even immune. In addition some of the cases were fully vaxxed people... Just saying

watergirl

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 6:43 am

amother wrote:

If you had read the entire article, you would have a clue who this rabbi is. Read it again and then you will know. He knows a heck of a lot more about vaccines and contagious illness than any other posek. One might assert that they have zero respect for a rav who paskens that you dont need to vaccinate and thereby be party to transmitting infectious, devestating, and preventable illness.

And I would like to see proof of this ruling that you are referring to which prohibits schools from requiring vaccines for admission.

amother

Peach

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 6:44 am

amother wrote:

In addition doctors don't learn about shots they just follow cdc. They are not taught about them at all.

Did you find that out when you went to medical school?

amother

Saddlebrown

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 6:46 am

amother wrote:

He is an expert of infectious diseases. Hello? You think he hasn't learned about vaccines? He's not your typical pediatrician who might not know.

No I don't think he learned. I think he learned wtvr gar age the vaccine companies teach not anything else. My cousin almost died from getting that shot. She was in the ICU for a month straight from the doctors office and not has a very compromised immune system from that "harmless" shot we just throw into the bodies of out young children and now babies.

amother

Seashell

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 6:47 am

amother wrote:

In addition doctors don't learn about shots they just follow cdc. They are not taught about them at all.

So you're saying that this epidemiologist and expert in infectious disease knows nothing about vaccines and their potential side effects. Ok. Go it. Rolling Eyes

watergirl

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 6:48 am

amother wrote:

Your statistics are waaaaaaaaay off. Its almost humorous.

And I’m sad but not surprised to hear that you are only considering healthy people when you think about the effects of the measles on society. We are also very very very concerned about the immuno compromised, infants, and masses of other people who cannot get vaccinated. Why do people forgot about them?

watergirl

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 6:49 am

amother wrote:

In addition doctors don't learn about shots they just follow cdc. They are not taught about them at all.

Where did you go to medical school?

heidi

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 7:11 am

amother wrote:

Don't speak so fast
The RABBI is a tremendous talmid chacham and baal chessed
Incredibly well respected in the medical community
You should have a lot of respect for this RABBI

keym

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 7:12 am

The problem that he doesn't address are the big rabbanim in America (on the Moetzes and Torah Umesorah) who they (primarily their wives, but they support) are virulently anti-vaxxers. So long as they continue their views, there will be a study following, who follow them and don't VAX. And these influential rabbanim put pressure on the schools to accept nonvaxxed children.
A few years ago, in Lakewood, there was a meeting (around the mumps outbreak). Representatives from all the pediatrician and internal medicine practices (most who are drum, erliche- it makes a halachic difference. A frum Dr). Trying to convince Rabbanim to make statements mandating vaccines and allowing the rejection of unvaxxed children.
It was a failure because Rabbi X and Rabbi Y refused to yield so many others followed them also.

dancingqueen

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 7:32 am

amother wrote:

In addition doctors don't learn about shots they just follow cdc. They are not taught about them at all.

Lies.

amother

Ivory

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 8:17 am

There was a shiur I listened from a prominent Rabbi who also deals with medical ethics. He makes it pretty clear that he is a pro vaccine rabbi and that he recommends people get the shots. However, he does state that when it comes to schools, they are halachically obligated to take an unvaccinated child. He goes into the Halacha in depth, but the bottom line was that halachically, one cannot force a parent to do something that they believe is dangerous to their child and may not deny an education for that. The risk of having one or two unvaccinated children in a school is too small and insignificant to justify it. While I myself vaccinate and see the validity in it, I think this article is one sided and basic and leaves out a lot of information both for and against without bringing enough sources.

Iymnok

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 8:17 am

keym wrote:

I think this is the crux of the issue. The wives of certain prominent rabbonim have been brainwashed with this stuff. I don’t know how much those rabbonim themselves have researched the risk vs. benefits and hishtadlus.
(The chance of getting the desease is a risk, the chance of a bad reaction to the vaccine is a risk. Which risk is better to take? What is valid hishtadlus?)

watergirl

Fri, Oct 26 2018, 8:23 am

amother wrote:

The law of the land is also a halacha. And in some communities, its far more than one or two unvaxxed kids.