NYS Ed Department Framed Vaccination as a First Amendment Right – Whose Rights are at Stake?

State Education Department ordered Jewish school to accept unvaccinated kids

By Kathianne Boniello

June 1, 2019 | 8:54pm

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The Shulamith School for GirlsDennis A. Clark

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MEASLES

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Amid a record-setting nationwide measles outbreak driven largely by New York cases, the state ordered a Long Island school to accept unvaccinated kids into its classes and after-school activities.

The Shulamith School for Girls in Cedarhurst says the state Education Department was wrong to twice overturn the school’s decision to bar Ilana and Nikolay Jinjihashvili’s two daughters after the parents sought a religious exemption to the vaccination rule.

The Jewish day school is now asking a federal judge to overturn Education Commissioner Mary­Ellen Elia’s orders, calling them “illegal, void and unenforceable.”

While the current measles outbreak has put the vaccination debate at the forefront of public health, the school is framing the dispute as a First Amendment fight.

“There are schools that have taken the position that under the school’s religious belief, as a matter of Jewish law, students should be vaccinated,” the school’s lawyer, Philip Kalban, told The Post. The parents may have a different and “sincere” belief about vaccinations, Kalban explained, “but they say it’s based on Jewish law, and our position is that Jewish law says just the opposite.”

The First Amendment comes into play because the school argues the state has no business interfering in a religious matter.

The case landed in Brooklyn federal court last week after the family sought to send their girls to an ­after-school art show and fundraiser but were blocked by the school.

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Anti-Vaxxers, Pointing Fingers, Anti-IDF, the Lessons of the Haredim – Some Arguments from Both Sides

 

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The Hippocratic Oath Should have Precluded a Pediatrician from Suggesting Bad Lots of Measles Vaccine

PUBLISHED WITH PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR OF THEUNORTHODOXJEW.BLOGSPOT.COM

A pediatrician questioned whether Jews were being intentionally given “bad lots” of vaccines that ended up giving children a new strain of the virus….

Despite Measles Warnings, Anti-Vaccine Rally Draws Hundreds of Ultra-Orthodox Jews

Hundreds were in attendance at an anti-vaccine rally in Monsey, N.Y., in Rockland County.

MONSEY, N.Y. — An ultra-Orthodox rabbi falsely described the measles outbreak among Jews as part of an elaborate plan concocted by Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York to deflect attention from “more serious” diseases brought by Central American migrants.

A pediatrician questioned whether Jews were being intentionally given “bad lots” of vaccines that ended up giving children a new strain of the virus. And Andrew Wakefield, the British doctor whose study linking measles vaccines with autism was widely discredited and condemned, appeared via Skype to offer an almost apocalyptic vision of a world in which vaccines were giving rise to deadlier immunization-resistant diseases.

Since the measles outbreak began last fall, the health authorities have embarked on a sweeping and exhaustive campaign, repeatedly urging people to get vaccinated and fighting the spread of misinformation. They have made special efforts in the ultra-Orthodox communities of Brooklyn and Rockland County, N.Y., where the disease has been spreading most quickly.

A pediatrician questioned whether Jews were being intentionally given “bad lots” of vaccines that ended up giving children a new strain of the virus. And Andrew Wakefield, the British doctor whose study linking measles vaccines with autism was widely discredited and condemned, appeared via Skype to offer an almost apocalyptic vision of a world in which vaccines were giving rise to deadlier immunization-resistant diseases. 

“We Hasidim have been chosen as the target,” said the rabbi, Hillel Handler. “The campaign against us has been successful.” 

Since the measles outbreak began last fall, the health authorities have embarked on a sweeping and exhaustive campaign, repeatedly urging people to get vaccinated and fighting the spread of misinformation. They have made special efforts in the ultra-Orthodox communities of Brooklyn and Rockland County, N.Y., where the disease has been spreading most quickly.

But the rally on Monday in Monsey, a Rockland County town about 30 miles northwest of New York City, vividly illustrated how the anti-vaccine fervor is not only enduring, but may be growing: Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews packed a ballroom for a “vaccine symposium” with leaders of the anti-vaccination movement.

Organized by a Monsey-based Jewish group, the event also showed how the movement was gaining ground: Greg Mitchell, a Washington-based lobbyist who represents the Church of Scientology, attended the meeting and addressed the crowd, offering to be their “voice in the public-policy game.”

The gathering was denounced by local elected officials, health authorities and some ultra-Orthodox rabbis, who said the speakers were spreading propaganda that could cause the outbreak to deepen, risking the health of countless people.

The event was held in a large ballroom. As is customary at ultra-Orthodox gatherings, the men were separated by an improvised wall from the women. Speakers were introduced and applauded as if they were celebrities.

The remarks — and the rapt audience — illustrated how the anti-vaccination movement can exploit fear and anxiety within relatively insular communities, especially religious ones, to undercut scientifically sound warnings from health experts.

“They are doubling down and increasing their messaging — capitalizing on fear,” Dr. Jane Zucker, the assistant commissioner of immunization for the New York City health department, said in an interview. “Parents are afraid of who and what to believe.”

Rabbi Handler, a 77-year-old from Brooklyn who said he was a Holocaust survivor, set the tone for the night, claiming that Jews were being persecuted as disease carriers and were being attacked on the street in New York City for sneezing. (The Anti-Defamation League has strongly objected to the appropriation of Holocaust symbols by vaccine critics.)

Mr. de Blasio has issued a public health emergency for four ZIP codes in Brooklyn where ultra-Orthodox Jews live. That decision appeared to have earned him the ire of Rabbi Handler, who described Mr. de Blasio as a “sneaky fellow” and a closet German — “Wilhelm, his real name, was named after Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany.”

(In fact, none of this is true. Mr. de Blasio was born Warren Wilhelm Jr., and later decided to take his mother’s last name as his own after becoming alienated from his father.)

‘Monkey, Rat and Pig DNA’: How Misinformation Is Driving the Measles Outbreak Among Ultra-Orthodox Jews

April 9, 2019

The pediatrician who spoke on Monday night, Dr. Lawrence Palevsky, is regularly cited in pamphlets circulated in New York City that urge women not to get their children vaccinated. His views have no basis in science, experts said. 

At the rally, he talked at length about mutating viruses and falsely claimed that failed vaccines were producing a new strain of measles. Women scribbled into notepads as he spoke. Others filmed his comments, sending them to their contacts on WhatsApp. Essentially, he said, there were no studies available to show how the vaccine affects the human body.

“Is it possible that the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine that is somehow being given in this lot to communities in Williamsburg and Lakewood and Monsey, maybe in Borough Park, is it possible that these lots are bad?” he asked, referring to areas in New York and New Jersey with large ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities. 

“It’s fascinating because we’re told how contagious the disease is, but somehow it’s centered in the Jewish community.” 

Dr. Palevsky could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Mr. Wakefield, who was stripped of his medical license in his native Britain some two decades ago for fraudulent claims linking vaccines to autism, accused the health authorities and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of misleading the public. But before doing that, he insisted on his own innocence.

“I wanted to reassure you that I have never been involved in scientific fraud,” he said via Skype from a darkened room, his face appearing eerily white as it was projected onto two large overhead screens.

“What happened to me is what happens to doctors who threatened the bottom line of the pharmaceutical companies.”

Rockland County has the highest number of recorded cases after New York City. But there are other pockets of large outbreaks as well, and not all of them in are in religious communities.

The C.D.C. said on Monday that the number of measles reported across the country rose by 75 last week, bringing the total to 839 in 23 states, the highest number of cases the United States has seen since measles was declared eliminated in 2000.

 

New York City alone has seen 498 confirmed cases of the disease since September. In the rest of New York state, there have been 274 confirmed cases, according to official figures. About 80 percent of those cases were located in Rockland County.

Read more about parents who choose not to vaccinate their children:

Measles Outbreak and International Problem, In Israel, Health Ministry to Take Dramatic Legal Action

HEALTH MINISTRY TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION AGAINST ANTI-VACCINATION DOCTORS

The Health Ministry is expected to take legal action against two doctors who advised thousands of patients to not get vaccinated, according to Israel Hayom. This is the first time that the Health Ministry will have taken legal action like this against doctors.

The Health Ministry referred to the doctors’ actions as “serious negligence.” If the doctors are convicted, they may lose their license to practice medicine, according to Israel Hayom.

The decision to take legal action comes after an investigation published in November 2018 included serious allegations that the Ministry did not deal with some doctors who were openly spreading false information about vaccines and encouraging the public not to vaccinate.

According to Israel Hayom, the Health Ministry called in the doctors for clarification in December because of a suspicion that they spread information which “encourages adults and children not to vaccinate. This is misleading the public and harming its health.” The summary of the investigation was completed this week.

The decision comes as the Health Ministry continues the fight against a large measles outbreak. 4,100 cases of measles have been recorded in Israel since March 2018, according to Health Ministry statistics.

About 96.1% of Israelis were vaccinated against measles as of September 2018, according to the Ministry.

The measles outbreak has become an international issue as well recently. The World Health Organization reported the highest number of measles cases in decades, with 328,560 cases in 2018. This is nearly double the number of cases reported in 2017.

The Health Ministry released a statement on Tuesday, stressing that children must be vaccinated against measles. The first dose should be given at the age of 12 months and the second dose should be given in first grade. Children who have not yet been vaccinated should be vaccinated as soon as possible.

The statement also recommended that those traveling abroad to Ukraine, Georgia, Madagascar, Albania and Liberia, should make absolutely sure that they are vaccinated.

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Satmar Boy’s Children’s Camp Holding Tisha B’Av Protest Against Israel – 1 Year Ago –

GET YOUR CHILDREN VACCINATED – Travel Advisory, Ukraine and 34,000 Infected – Measles

Europe measles outbreak infects 34,000: travel advisory

More than 34,000 Europeans were infected with the measles during the first two months of 2019, most of whom are in Ukraine but who inhabit 42 countries in all. In a new report, the World Health Organization warns vulnerable people to get vaccinated — especially if they plan on traveling.

Experts expect the outbreaks to spread if the “response is not timely and comprehensive.”

Measles diagnoses have reached more than 25,000 in Ukraine alone and the disease has killed 13 total among there, Romania and Albania. Outbreaks have also been identified in Thailand, the Philippines and the US.

“Every opportunity should be used to vaccinate susceptible children, adolescents and adults,” said WHO officials, noting that a vast majority of these cases are in unvaccinated people.

In 2017, the European region reached its highest-ever measles vaccination rate at around 90 percent, but experts agree that herd immunity — which describes sufficient disease resistance in a community — for the measles should be closer to 95 percent to achieve relative eradication of the virus. Over the past three years, some countries have lagged in immunization among marginalized and vulnerable groups.

Last month, the United Nations children’s fund released a report revealing that every year, more than 20 million children have missed their measles vaccine for the last eight years.

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Over 2.5 Million Children in the US were not Vaccinated for the Measles – A Travesty – unicef Press Release

Press release

Over 20 million children worldwide missed out on measles vaccine annually in past 8 years, creating a pathway to current global outbreaks – UNICEF

24 April 2019

UNICEF/UN0201055/Krepkih

Dana, 15 months, held by her mother Inna, being administered her first dose of mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) vaccine on 4 April 2018 in Children’s Policlinic №1 in Obolon district, Kyiv, Ukraine.

NEW YORK, 25 April 2019 – An estimated 169 million children missed out on the first dose of the measles vaccine between 2010 and 2017, or 21.1 million children a year on average, UNICEF said today.

Widening pockets of unvaccinated children have created a pathway to the measles outbreaks hitting several countries around the world today.

“The ground for the global measles outbreaks we are witnessing today was laid years ago,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. “The measles virus will always find unvaccinated children. If we are serious about averting the spread of this dangerous but preventable disease, we need to vaccinate every child, in rich and poor countries alike.”

In the first three months of 2019, more than 110,000 measles cases were reported worldwide – up nearly 300 per cent from the same period last year. An estimated 110,000 people, most of them children, died from measles in 2017, a 22 per cent increase from the year before.

Two doses of the measles vaccine are essential to protect children from the disease. However, due to lack of access, poor health systems, complacency, and in some cases fear or skepticism about vaccines, the global coverage of the first dose of the measles vaccine was reported at 85 per cent in 2017, a figure that has remained relatively constant over the last decade despite population growth. Global coverage for the second dose is much lower, at 67 per cent. The World Health Organization recommends a threshold of 95 per cent immunization coverage to achieve so-called ‘herd immunity’.

Top ten high-income countries where children not vaccinated with the first measles vaccine dose 2010 – 2017

1. United States: 2,593,000
2. France: 608,000
3. United Kingdom: 527,000
4. Argentina: 438,000
5. Italy: 435,000
6. Japan: 374,000
7. Canada: 287,000
8. Germany: 168,000
9. Australia: 138,000
10. Chile: 136,000

In high income countries, while coverage with the first dose is 94 per cent, coverage for the second dose drops to 91 per cent, according to the latest data.

The United States tops the list of high-income countries with the most children not receiving the first dose of the vaccine between 2010 and 2017, at more than 2.5 million. It is followed by France and the United Kingdom, with over 600,000 and 500,000 unvaccinated infants, respectively, during the same period.

In low- and middle-income countries, the situation is critical. In 2017, for example, Nigeria had the highest number of children under one year of age who missed out on the first dose, at nearly 4 million. It was followed by India (2.9 million), Pakistan and Indonesia (1.2 million each), and Ethiopia (1.1 million).

Worldwide coverage levels of the second dose of the measles vaccines are even more alarming. Of the top 20 countries with the largest number of unvaccinated children in 2017, 9 have not introduced the second dose. Twenty-countries in sub-Saharan Africa have not introduced the necessary second dose in the national vaccination schedule, putting over 17 million infants a year at higher risk of measles during their childhood.

UNICEF, with partners such as the Measles and Rubella Initiative and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is helping address this measles crisis by:

• Negotiating vaccine prices: the cost of the measles vaccine is now at an all-time low;
• Helping countries identify underserved areas and unreached children;
• Procuring vaccines and other immunization supplies;
• Supporting supplementary vaccination campaigns to address gaps in routine immunization coverage;
• Working with relevant countries to introduce the second dose of the measles vaccine in the national immunization schedule. Cameroon, Liberia and Nigeria are on track to do so in 2019.
• Introducing innovations like the use of solar power and mobile technologies to maintain vaccines at the right temperature.

“Measles is far too contagious,” said Fore. “It is critical not only to increase coverage but also to sustain vaccination rates at the right doses to create an umbrella of immunity for everyone.”

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Notes to editors:

About the Analysis

The analysis is based on UNICEF and WHO’s estimation of national immunization coverage of 194 countries for 2017. Provisional measles and rubella data is based on monthly data reported to WHO Geneva in April 2019. For high income countries, follow the World Bank country classification by income in July 2018.

About World Immunization Week

Celebrated in the last week of April, World Immunization Week aims to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease. Find more details about UNICEF’s WIW efforts here.

About Measles and Rubella Initiative

UNICEF is part of the Measles and Rubella Initiative, a private-public partnership including WHO, CDC, United Nations Foundation and American Red Cross that spearheads a global push towards measles and rubella elimination and control.