This is probably not the forum for this, but I’m going to post it here anyway.
I’m sure some of you opened up the Wall Street journal this week and saw the front page article about measles in the Orthodox Jewish population. If you turned on 880 or 1010 Wins on the radio, the lead story was about the measles outbreak in Williamsburg.
You can mark your calendars. There is the potential to be a measles outbreak of unheralded proportions this summer in the Catskills. As we all know, there is a mixing of the neighborhoods over the summer, and kids of all ages are going to be in close contact. I am predicting that as soon as the first child in a day camp has measles, the Sullivan County Department of Health is going to close down that day camp for at least 30 days.
THIS IS ALL PREVENTABLE. Myself and my family are vaccinated. I don’t have any children in Day camp. But I have no interest in the Department of Health coming into my bungalow colony. I would hate to see one of my friends children in an ICU on a respirator. (There are currently a few on a respirator now with measles). Vaccinate your kids!!! Encourage your friends to vaccinate their kids!!!
Wishing everyone a healthy and joyous Pesach.
Ellie Bennett, MD
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
12 Responses
the authorities ought to set up roadblocks and spot checks to only allow children with vaccination records into the Catskills. anyone caught with an unvaccinated child should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law
It’ll be over pesach not the summer . Tons of family and friends together!!!
Unlikely. The worldwide problem with measles is being address by vaccination campaigns. This isn’t a frum issue any more than weather or pollution is a frum issue. The current publicity will encourage enough vaccinations to minimize the problem. Also remember that once a child in an anti-vaccine family gets the measles, they become immune.
That’s okay Doc. The rich and famous have nothing to worry about. I don’t see anyone cancelling their extravagant Pesach “vacations” for the fear of they or their children contracting the dreaded measles. Same for the summer. Life moves on. It’s only those low income chevra that should be concerned.
“I would hate to see one of my friends children in an ICU on a respirator. (There are currently a few on a respirator now with measles).”
This is crazy, someone will have to answer for all of this, all the suffering and pain these patients and their families have to go through, only because some person decided that the radical anti-science and anti-medicine websites are legitimate and decided that it would be a great mitzvah to create a ‘movement’ of people that ‘believe’ this stuff.
Our rabbonim and poskim have made it very clear in WRITING that not only is there no basis to withhold vaccinations yet according to the Jewish religion we are obligated to vaccinate. Some even added very strong words against those that do not vaccinate.
Shame on those that are hiding behind our religion only to further their radical agendas, without regard to the harm this causes many and without regard of going against what our leaders have said.
For those that say this is just a benign childhood disease, the definition of benign means not harmful. This disease has the potential to be very harmful, children are admitted to the hospital, or in the ICU with maxed out BiPAP settings or on vents, all hopefully IYH will recover.
This is without taking into account the potentially permanent effects including those that are chronic and only begin to affect these patients a number of years later.
If one takes the time to take a look into any older medical and scientific textbook that predate the Measles vaccine, you would clearly see how measles is a dreaded disease and not considered benign, as it accounted for many deaths and chronic stuff.
camps have been & now have a ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY on kids not up to date
we had a child of a rebbe in camp who was transferred by hatzoloh on friday night to columbia and on motzei we were told menigitis and no vax mom . we waited a few days for things to stabilize and packed all their boxes put in a uhaul and nebach bye bye the mom messsed up the summer for her whole family and the hubby was petrified to get the kids vaxed while mommy at the pool ( we tried convincing him to just take the 2 kids to a local ped. w/o her knowing rather than throw them out he was a very good rebbe
Pls bring me proof of even one double blinded study that proved that vaccines are safe, and I will make sure the entire New York State gets their MMR tomorrow.
@faigyfrombrooklyn um hmmm lets use our brains here billions of people get the vaccine theyre all alive and healthy. also the gedolim paskened you havta vaccinate if u dont vaccinate your going against daas torah whichis going aginst ehat hashem wants you to do. This whole out break is making HUGE chillul hashem i was reently reading comments about it on non jewish media poeple are writing such disgusting things about the jews because of the out break so do whats safe and what hashem wabts you to and just vaccinate getting the measles=possible death, lifelong and chronic complications. mmr vaccine= totally safe in rare cases there could be a severe allergic reaction but its ectremely rare
Explain in detail what study would satisfy you. There have been billions of vaccines given since the start. There is more available data than anything else.
Did you and your children have the MMR vaccine?
Great! No need to worry about the neighbor’s non vaccinated children- you are ‘immune’-or so is the claim.
Daven to Hashem that you are protected becaue you did the hishtadlus you needed o do, and the rest has zero to do with you. You made your statements and protests and now take a step back!
My children had 2 MMR vaccines when young. They were born in 1992 and 1993. Their titer tests showed they are are not immune to measles. Everyone’s titer should be tested.
One can have immunity & no titers.