12 ms·

New York’s Rockland County declares measles outbreak emergency

144 points by dustinmoris 8y ago

JumpCrisscross 8y ago
Rockland County, a county in New York State, not New York County, which is congruent with the borough of Manhattan [1]. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_counties_in_New_York https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_counties_in_New_York
- de_Selby 8y ago
  I parsed it as "(a) New York County ..." Not "The county named 'New York County' ..."
  - cimmanom 8y ago
    If you’re not super familiar with the existence of New York County, that definitely makes sense as a default reading. For those of us who are, the headline was double-take worthy. And yes, I skimmed the comments for the answer instead of opening the article. That said, New York County as an entity rarely if ever does anything. It’s the borough of Manhattan that actually has a governmental structure. I’m not aware of any belonging to the county except maybe a court. And an emergency like this would always be declared on a city-wide basis (and has been in the past), just based on the amount of travel within and between the boroughs.
- thomasedwards 8y ago
  I think that’s why the title is “New York county” and not “New York County”, but maybe that’s a BBC thing as they don’t use Title Case for Everything.
csomar 8y ago
How come such vaccines are not mandatory? Shouldn't the parents be held responsible for endangering their children and potentially killing them?
- dvdkhlng 8y ago
  Maybe they should also be held responsible for causing harm to other people, teachers, pupils their kids come in contact with?
- kypro 8y ago
  I dislike the antivax movement but mandatory state injections would be a huge violation of liberties in my opinion. Just because most vaccines are safe and worth while getting don't mean they all are, or always will be.
  - krapp 8y ago
    >I dislike the antivax movement but mandatory state injections would be a huge violation of liberties in my opinion. That's true, but if we consider any violation of personal liberty to be harmful, then we're left with primitivist anarchy. We've decided, collectively (albeit not individually and not always voluntarily) that it is beneficial in some cases to abridge the rights of the individual for the sake of society. We invented systems of laws and courts because we consider a fixed set of common laws and a controlled system to adjudicate them to be more just and fair on average than retributory violence and clan based tribalism, despite the existence of the state and its monopoly on violence being an abridgement of personal liberty. We've also decided that, while scientific inquiry has its faults, it is preferable to assume that the premises of science (specifically, epidemiology and the utility of vaccines) hold sound, given the evidence, despite this amounting to an appeal to authority for most people, who aren't likely to be willing or able to do the work of personally validating all of the claims ever made by a particular scientific field. In the case of vaccines, we have ample historical evidence of the effect of epidemics and a lack of preventative measures on human populations, and of the improvements made to society as a result of vaccination and preventative measures. The choice here is not between potentially harmful vaccines versus a healthy life in their absence, rather, between between an abstract threat (vaccines) and a concrete threat (disease.) So, yes. Mandatory vaccines are a violation of liberty. We didn't spend the last several millennia laying a foundation of civilization and scientific progress just to subject ourselves to the blind malice of nature for the sake of a few people who don't like the government telling them they're not allowed to catch polio if they want to.
tu7001 8y ago
This article is typical antiscience propaganda, the only few bits of information is, that 153 cases been confirmed and "outbreak "is largely concentrated in Orthodox Jewish community. We don't know how many of them was vaccinated, how many serious side affects hit them. As far as I know measles is completely harmless disease (at least in the well developed countries). When I was a kid (80's in Poland) majority of us had it, and it was considered rather fun - two weeks out of school, time for lecture, tv, etc. I didn't hear about any serious side effects, either sources from this time remain silence.
- pmyteh 8y ago
  Measles is not a completely harmless disease. In most people, it runs like you say. In a small number, it leads to encephalitis or a number of other sometimes-fatal complications. It's not something we'd want to be endemic again.
- Kurtz79 8y ago
  It is not the same contracting it as a kid or an adult: "Most measles-related deaths are caused by complications associated with the disease. Serious complications are more common in children under the age of 5, or adults over the age of 30. The most serious complications include blindness, encephalitis (an infection that causes brain swelling), severe diarrhoea and related dehydration, ear infections, or severe respiratory infections such as pneumonia." Not sure what you mean by "antiscience"? Are the statistics about the decline in vaccinations wrong?
  - CodeWriter23 8y ago
    Maybe look up the US measles fatality statistics at the CDC or Bureau of Vital Statistics?
    - TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
      Do you have something specific you want to say here? For every 1,000 children who get measles, one or two will die from it. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/complications.html https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/complications.html https://www.cdc.gov/measles/cases-outbreaks.html https://www.cdc.gov/measles/cases-outbreaks.html
dvdkhlng 8y ago
Same problem in germany, recently. Parents think they know better and refuse to have their kids vaccinated. Now the vaccination rate is low enough for measles to start spreading in schools etc. Currently there is a discussion about making vaccination mandatory: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-measles-vaccine-could-be-compulsory-for-kids/a-48050623 https://www.dw.com/en/germany-measles-vaccine-could-be-compu...
- cbg0 8y ago
  While I'm not sure on the legal side of things if this is enforceable, I think not allowing them to participate in school as a matter of public health would be easier to put into law than forcing them to get vaccinated. Obviously, state and private companies could require vaccinations for employment as well, so unless you have a medical reason to not be vaccinated you won't be able to be part of civilized society.
  - dvdkhlng 8y ago
    Yes, for kindergarden I would imagine such kind of approach to be very effective. However, school is obligatory (at least where I come from) and people even get into trouble for taking kinds on vacation outside of school holidays, so denying kids to participate in school may not be an option (and would also not be in the kids' interest).
    - askmike 8y ago
      In my country too, I think cbg0 is referring to homeschooling these kids instead.
      - JanSt 8y ago
        Homeschooling is not allowed in Germany
        askmike 8y ago
        Not at all? It is in my country (the Netherlands) in some circumstances, for example if you are of a certain religion and there is no school within x kilometers that satisfies your religious requirements.
tanilama 8y ago
Measles even for normal adults can leave ugly scars afterwards. It is definitely not harmless.
- C1sc0cat 8y ago
  And for guys can make you infertile and have horrific consequences if your a Woman and are pregnant when you get it.
- azernik 8y ago
  And can permanently weaken your immune system: https://youtu.be/lrG0mOnfNv0 https://youtu.be/lrG0mOnfNv0
matthewfelgate 8y ago
Facebook has a lot to answer for. The internet was supposed to be a new human enlightenment by enabling professionals to remotely connect. We didn't bank on the ability of idiots to connect too...
- tibbydudeza 8y ago
  Well you can't blame them for the sheer stupidity and idiocy that is now celebrated in our culture today.
- lotsofpulp 8y ago
  Facebook has nothing to answer for, unless you think facilitating communication with others endows them with the responsibility to monitor and police all communications.
  - hackerbabz 8y ago
    They created a product that is making the world worse. I want them to answer for that just like I want cigarette and oil companies to answer for their products that make the world worse.
    - lotsofpulp 8y ago
      They created a product which allows people to stay in touch and communicate and organize with others. I can fix things with a screwdriver, or I can hurt someone. I can run over someone with a car, or I can use it to go to work. Things have pros and cons, and when the cons outweigh the pros perhaps action must be taken. But in this case, the people spreading the disinformation are to blame.
      - Broken_Hippo 8y ago
        But this isn't like that. This is like seeing a road hazard that will hurt other people, but instead of doing anything about it - not even calling someone else to take care of it - you just ignore it and drive the other way. Seriously, they will punish an account for a nipple and do it even faster for frontal nudity, and it doesn't matter how tasteful the art is. They refuse adverts if they show "too much skin" (uncovered shoulders hinting at possible nudity). I'm pretty sure they can take these sorts of posts and pages down - or at least work towards taking them down.
LandR 8y ago
How are we still getting measles outbreak in a developed country in current year. This is a solved problem. FFS.
- nine_k 8y ago
  A well-working solution is known. But a problem is not solved unless a solution is actually applied.
- krapp 8y ago
  It's almost as if an organized movement to convince people that the solution is the problem is succeeding in its goals.
- swarnie_ 8y ago
  How about you stop electing anti-vaxers and climate change deniers to high power?
  - LandR 8y ago
    I assume you are talking about Trump. I'm not American, and even if I were, I wouldn't vote for him...
- dsfyu404ed 8y ago
  Because a "large enough to cause problems" minority of people think they know what's best, science and statistics be damned. It's the same reason people are still clinging to the war on drugs, pushing gun control, fighting densification (yes I know that's not a word) of cities and denying climate change.
  - threatofrain 8y ago
    I feel that scientists have also long played around with an ethic of anti-journalism or anti-marketing as a pride, like it shows you're a true person of science. There aren't enough Richard Feynman's in the modern age.
Leace 8y ago
And on the other side of the globe, "Australian Teens Ignore Anti-Vaxxer Parents by Getting Secret Vaccinations": https://www.thedailybeast.com/australian-teens-ignore-anti-vaxxer-parents-by-getting-secret-vaccinations https://www.thedailybeast.com/australian-teens-ignore-anti-v...
- Broken_Hippo 8y ago
  Unfortunately, minors in the US have few actual rights. I don't think they have the right to get vaccines without their parent's permission and it isn't considered medical abuse.
  - wavefunction 8y ago
    It depends on the state and age of the minor: https://vaxopedia.org/2018/09/25/how-can-i-get-vaccinated-if-my-parents-are-anti-vaccine/ https://vaxopedia.org/2018/09/25/how-can-i-get-vaccinated-if...
hguhghuff 8y ago
Important thing to remember: using vaccines risks bad things happening. Oh, wait, what?
dustinmoris 8y ago
Just for the record, people who claim that mandatory vaccinations are a violation of personal liberty are either really really dumb or are trolling the internet with some sinister agenda, because it simply doesn't make any freaking sense. We make it mandatory: - To send kids to school and educate them - To send soldiers to war to protect our countries - To carry out any medical procedure which is necessary to save someone's life if they had an accident - To take driving lessons before we're allowed to freely drive in a motorised vehicle - To be registered with the government and have a primary post address - To legally register your marriage in order to be considered married in front of a non existent god - To apply for divorce in order to legally separate from a spouse - A gazillion more things... But making a SINGLE jab mandatory which will prevent you from contaminating a disease and avoid getting some freaking brain damage or dying from it is apparently violating someone's liberty? Are you kidding me? Enough is enough, there is no reason to be polite anymore, people who think that are literally dumb idiots. We should actually not only take their freedom of "not getting vaccinated", but these people are so dumb we should actually take away all freedoms from them. There's a limit of how much stupidity I can tolerate and I think watching this vaccination drama unfold is just beyond belief.
- notacoward 8y ago
  For the record, I think you go a bit too far with this, but whoever flagged it was acting in bad faith.
- tomjen3 8y ago
  You are making an is-outh fallacy (I am opposed to half the items on that list), some are even wrong. In addition, your opening statement is not in keeping with HN guideslines. If somebody has flagged you, I think they were a tad harsh, but quite correct.
nerdponx 8y ago
I know it's against the rules here to insinuate that people haven't read the article, but I don't think anyone commenting has read the article. This isn't about the anti-vax movement as it is about the toxic relationship that the ultra-Orthodox Jewish enclaves in New York have with their surrounding communities. They are used to abusing religious exemptions in order to have everything "their way". Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of their ability to operate like this. The outbreak in Rockland County is largely concentrated in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, the New York Times reported. It is believed it could have spread from other predominantly ultra-Orthodox areas around New York which have already seen outbreaks of measles. Mr Day said health inspectors had encountered "resistance" from some local residents, which he branded "unacceptable and irresponsible". "They've been told 'We're not discussing this, do not come back' when visiting the homes of infected individuals as part of their investigations," he said.
- js2 8y ago
  I was curious what’s going on here as there’s nothing in Jewish teachings[0] that would justify an anti-vaccination stance. It’s apparently more that as an insular community it is particularly susceptible to anti-vaccine misinformation[1]. 0. In numerous states parents wishing not to vaccinate their children are permitted to sign a document stating that their religious convictions do not allow them to; based on this signature the child will then be permitted to attend school under the law. It is reported that small numbers of parents in Jewish schools have signed such documents. For a parent of a yeshiva student to sign such a statement in the name of Judaism is not just inappropriate, it is false. Whether a posek will rule that childhood immunizations are obligatory in halakhah or are discretionary (but highly advisable), there is no position in halakhah that says there is any prohibition or compelling reason to refrain from such vaccinations. http://www.hakirah.org/Vol13Bush.pdf http://www.hakirah.org/Vol13Bush.pdf 1. “How Orthodox Jewish Nurses Are Fighting 'Anti-Vaccination Propaganda' Targeting Their Community” http://gothamist.com/2019/03/26/orthodox_jewish_nurses_vaccines.php http://gothamist.com/2019/03/26/orthodox_jewish_nurses_vacci...
  - Balgair 8y ago
    This American Life has a very in-depth broadcast from 2014 about the many, many, issues involved. Well worth a listen: "A Not-So-Simple Majority: Before the war in the East Ramapo, New York school district, there was a truce. Local school officials made a deal with their Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbors: we'll leave you alone to teach your children in private yeshivas as you see fit as long as you allow our public school budget to pass. But the budget is funded by local property taxes, which everyone, including the local Hasidim, have to pay — even though their kids don't attend the schools that their money is paying for. What followed was one of the most volatile local political battles we've ever encountered." https://www.thisamericanlife.org/534/a-not-so-simple-majority https://www.thisamericanlife.org/534/a-not-so-simple-majorit...

144 points by dustinmoris 8y ago

Rockland County, a county in New York State, not New York County, which is congruent with the borough of Manhattan [1]. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_counties_in_New_York https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_counties_in_New_York

de_Selby 8y ago
I parsed it as "(a) New York County ..." Not "The county named 'New York County' ..."
- cimmanom 8y ago
  If you’re not super familiar with the existence of New York County, that definitely makes sense as a default reading. For those of us who are, the headline was double-take worthy. And yes, I skimmed the comments for the answer instead of opening the article. That said, New York County as an entity rarely if ever does anything. It’s the borough of Manhattan that actually has a governmental structure. I’m not aware of any belonging to the county except maybe a court. And an emergency like this would always be declared on a city-wide basis (and has been in the past), just based on the amount of travel within and between the boroughs.
thomasedwards 8y ago
I think that’s why the title is “New York county” and not “New York County”, but maybe that’s a BBC thing as they don’t use Title Case for Everything.

csomar 8y ago

How come such vaccines are not mandatory? Shouldn't the parents be held responsible for endangering their children and potentially killing them?

dvdkhlng 8y ago
Maybe they should also be held responsible for causing harm to other people, teachers, pupils their kids come in contact with?
kypro 8y ago
I dislike the antivax movement but mandatory state injections would be a huge violation of liberties in my opinion. Just because most vaccines are safe and worth while getting don't mean they all are, or always will be.
- krapp 8y ago
  >I dislike the antivax movement but mandatory state injections would be a huge violation of liberties in my opinion. That's true, but if we consider any violation of personal liberty to be harmful, then we're left with primitivist anarchy. We've decided, collectively (albeit not individually and not always voluntarily) that it is beneficial in some cases to abridge the rights of the individual for the sake of society. We invented systems of laws and courts because we consider a fixed set of common laws and a controlled system to adjudicate them to be more just and fair on average than retributory violence and clan based tribalism, despite the existence of the state and its monopoly on violence being an abridgement of personal liberty. We've also decided that, while scientific inquiry has its faults, it is preferable to assume that the premises of science (specifically, epidemiology and the utility of vaccines) hold sound, given the evidence, despite this amounting to an appeal to authority for most people, who aren't likely to be willing or able to do the work of personally validating all of the claims ever made by a particular scientific field. In the case of vaccines, we have ample historical evidence of the effect of epidemics and a lack of preventative measures on human populations, and of the improvements made to society as a result of vaccination and preventative measures. The choice here is not between potentially harmful vaccines versus a healthy life in their absence, rather, between between an abstract threat (vaccines) and a concrete threat (disease.) So, yes. Mandatory vaccines are a violation of liberty. We didn't spend the last several millennia laying a foundation of civilization and scientific progress just to subject ourselves to the blind malice of nature for the sake of a few people who don't like the government telling them they're not allowed to catch polio if they want to.

tu7001 8y ago

This article is typical antiscience propaganda, the only few bits of information is, that 153 cases been confirmed and "outbreak "is largely concentrated in Orthodox Jewish community. We don't know how many of them was vaccinated, how many serious side affects hit them. As far as I know measles is completely harmless disease (at least in the well developed countries). When I was a kid (80's in Poland) majority of us had it, and it was considered rather fun - two weeks out of school, time for lecture, tv, etc. I didn't hear about any serious side effects, either sources from this time remain silence.

pmyteh 8y ago
Measles is not a completely harmless disease. In most people, it runs like you say. In a small number, it leads to encephalitis or a number of other sometimes-fatal complications. It's not something we'd want to be endemic again.
Kurtz79 8y ago
It is not the same contracting it as a kid or an adult: "Most measles-related deaths are caused by complications associated with the disease. Serious complications are more common in children under the age of 5, or adults over the age of 30. The most serious complications include blindness, encephalitis (an infection that causes brain swelling), severe diarrhoea and related dehydration, ear infections, or severe respiratory infections such as pneumonia." Not sure what you mean by "antiscience"? Are the statistics about the decline in vaccinations wrong?
- CodeWriter23 8y ago
  Maybe look up the US measles fatality statistics at the CDC or Bureau of Vital Statistics?
  - TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
    Do you have something specific you want to say here? For every 1,000 children who get measles, one or two will die from it. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/complications.html https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/complications.html https://www.cdc.gov/measles/cases-outbreaks.html https://www.cdc.gov/measles/cases-outbreaks.html

dvdkhlng 8y ago

Same problem in germany, recently. Parents think they know better and refuse to have their kids vaccinated. Now the vaccination rate is low enough for measles to start spreading in schools etc. Currently there is a discussion about making vaccination mandatory: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-measles-vaccine-could-be-compulsory-for-kids/a-48050623 https://www.dw.com/en/germany-measles-vaccine-could-be-compu...

cbg0 8y ago
While I'm not sure on the legal side of things if this is enforceable, I think not allowing them to participate in school as a matter of public health would be easier to put into law than forcing them to get vaccinated. Obviously, state and private companies could require vaccinations for employment as well, so unless you have a medical reason to not be vaccinated you won't be able to be part of civilized society.
- dvdkhlng 8y ago
  Yes, for kindergarden I would imagine such kind of approach to be very effective. However, school is obligatory (at least where I come from) and people even get into trouble for taking kinds on vacation outside of school holidays, so denying kids to participate in school may not be an option (and would also not be in the kids' interest).
  - askmike 8y ago
    In my country too, I think cbg0 is referring to homeschooling these kids instead.
    - JanSt 8y ago
      Homeschooling is not allowed in Germany
      - askmike 8y ago
        Not at all? It is in my country (the Netherlands) in some circumstances, for example if you are of a certain religion and there is no school within x kilometers that satisfies your religious requirements.

tanilama 8y ago

Measles even for normal adults can leave ugly scars afterwards. It is definitely not harmless.

C1sc0cat 8y ago
And for guys can make you infertile and have horrific consequences if your a Woman and are pregnant when you get it.
azernik 8y ago
And can permanently weaken your immune system: https://youtu.be/lrG0mOnfNv0 https://youtu.be/lrG0mOnfNv0

matthewfelgate 8y ago

Facebook has a lot to answer for. The internet was supposed to be a new human enlightenment by enabling professionals to remotely connect. We didn't bank on the ability of idiots to connect too...

tibbydudeza 8y ago
Well you can't blame them for the sheer stupidity and idiocy that is now celebrated in our culture today.
lotsofpulp 8y ago
Facebook has nothing to answer for, unless you think facilitating communication with others endows them with the responsibility to monitor and police all communications.
- hackerbabz 8y ago
  They created a product that is making the world worse. I want them to answer for that just like I want cigarette and oil companies to answer for their products that make the world worse.
  - lotsofpulp 8y ago
    They created a product which allows people to stay in touch and communicate and organize with others. I can fix things with a screwdriver, or I can hurt someone. I can run over someone with a car, or I can use it to go to work. Things have pros and cons, and when the cons outweigh the pros perhaps action must be taken. But in this case, the people spreading the disinformation are to blame.
    - Broken_Hippo 8y ago
      But this isn't like that. This is like seeing a road hazard that will hurt other people, but instead of doing anything about it - not even calling someone else to take care of it - you just ignore it and drive the other way. Seriously, they will punish an account for a nipple and do it even faster for frontal nudity, and it doesn't matter how tasteful the art is. They refuse adverts if they show "too much skin" (uncovered shoulders hinting at possible nudity). I'm pretty sure they can take these sorts of posts and pages down - or at least work towards taking them down.

LandR 8y ago

How are we still getting measles outbreak in a developed country in current year. This is a solved problem. FFS.

nine_k 8y ago
A well-working solution is known. But a problem is not solved unless a solution is actually applied.
krapp 8y ago
It's almost as if an organized movement to convince people that the solution is the problem is succeeding in its goals.
swarnie_ 8y ago
How about you stop electing anti-vaxers and climate change deniers to high power?
- LandR 8y ago
  I assume you are talking about Trump. I'm not American, and even if I were, I wouldn't vote for him...
dsfyu404ed 8y ago
Because a "large enough to cause problems" minority of people think they know what's best, science and statistics be damned. It's the same reason people are still clinging to the war on drugs, pushing gun control, fighting densification (yes I know that's not a word) of cities and denying climate change.
- threatofrain 8y ago
  I feel that scientists have also long played around with an ethic of anti-journalism or anti-marketing as a pride, like it shows you're a true person of science. There aren't enough Richard Feynman's in the modern age.

Leace 8y ago

And on the other side of the globe, "Australian Teens Ignore Anti-Vaxxer Parents by Getting Secret Vaccinations": https://www.thedailybeast.com/australian-teens-ignore-anti-vaxxer-parents-by-getting-secret-vaccinations https://www.thedailybeast.com/australian-teens-ignore-anti-v...

Broken_Hippo 8y ago
Unfortunately, minors in the US have few actual rights. I don't think they have the right to get vaccines without their parent's permission and it isn't considered medical abuse.
- wavefunction 8y ago
  It depends on the state and age of the minor: https://vaxopedia.org/2018/09/25/how-can-i-get-vaccinated-if-my-parents-are-anti-vaccine/ https://vaxopedia.org/2018/09/25/how-can-i-get-vaccinated-if...

hguhghuff 8y ago

Important thing to remember: using vaccines risks bad things happening. Oh, wait, what?

dustinmoris 8y ago

Just for the record, people who claim that mandatory vaccinations are a violation of personal liberty are either really really dumb or are trolling the internet with some sinister agenda, because it simply doesn't make any freaking sense. We make it mandatory: - To send kids to school and educate them - To send soldiers to war to protect our countries - To carry out any medical procedure which is necessary to save someone's life if they had an accident - To take driving lessons before we're allowed to freely drive in a motorised vehicle - To be registered with the government and have a primary post address - To legally register your marriage in order to be considered married in front of a non existent god - To apply for divorce in order to legally separate from a spouse - A gazillion more things... But making a SINGLE jab mandatory which will prevent you from contaminating a disease and avoid getting some freaking brain damage or dying from it is apparently violating someone's liberty? Are you kidding me? Enough is enough, there is no reason to be polite anymore, people who think that are literally dumb idiots. We should actually not only take their freedom of "not getting vaccinated", but these people are so dumb we should actually take away all freedoms from them. There's a limit of how much stupidity I can tolerate and I think watching this vaccination drama unfold is just beyond belief.

notacoward 8y ago
For the record, I think you go a bit too far with this, but whoever flagged it was acting in bad faith.
tomjen3 8y ago
You are making an is-outh fallacy (I am opposed to half the items on that list), some are even wrong. In addition, your opening statement is not in keeping with HN guideslines. If somebody has flagged you, I think they were a tad harsh, but quite correct.

nerdponx 8y ago

I know it's against the rules here to insinuate that people haven't read the article, but I don't think anyone commenting has read the article. This isn't about the anti-vax movement as it is about the toxic relationship that the ultra-Orthodox Jewish enclaves in New York have with their surrounding communities. They are used to abusing religious exemptions in order to have everything "their way". Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of their ability to operate like this. The outbreak in Rockland County is largely concentrated in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, the New York Times reported. It is believed it could have spread from other predominantly ultra-Orthodox areas around New York which have already seen outbreaks of measles. Mr Day said health inspectors had encountered "resistance" from some local residents, which he branded "unacceptable and irresponsible". "They've been told 'We're not discussing this, do not come back' when visiting the homes of infected individuals as part of their investigations," he said.

js2 8y ago
I was curious what’s going on here as there’s nothing in Jewish teachings[0] that would justify an anti-vaccination stance. It’s apparently more that as an insular community it is particularly susceptible to anti-vaccine misinformation[1]. 0. In numerous states parents wishing not to vaccinate their children are permitted to sign a document stating that their religious convictions do not allow them to; based on this signature the child will then be permitted to attend school under the law. It is reported that small numbers of parents in Jewish schools have signed such documents. For a parent of a yeshiva student to sign such a statement in the name of Judaism is not just inappropriate, it is false. Whether a posek will rule that childhood immunizations are obligatory in halakhah or are discretionary (but highly advisable), there is no position in halakhah that says there is any prohibition or compelling reason to refrain from such vaccinations. http://www.hakirah.org/Vol13Bush.pdf http://www.hakirah.org/Vol13Bush.pdf 1. “How Orthodox Jewish Nurses Are Fighting 'Anti-Vaccination Propaganda' Targeting Their Community” http://gothamist.com/2019/03/26/orthodox_jewish_nurses_vaccines.php http://gothamist.com/2019/03/26/orthodox_jewish_nurses_vacci...
- Balgair 8y ago
  This American Life has a very in-depth broadcast from 2014 about the many, many, issues involved. Well worth a listen: "A Not-So-Simple Majority: Before the war in the East Ramapo, New York school district, there was a truce. Local school officials made a deal with their Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbors: we'll leave you alone to teach your children in private yeshivas as you see fit as long as you allow our public school budget to pass. But the budget is funded by local property taxes, which everyone, including the local Hasidim, have to pay — even though their kids don't attend the schools that their money is paying for. What followed was one of the most volatile local political battles we've ever encountered." https://www.thisamericanlife.org/534/a-not-so-simple-majority https://www.thisamericanlife.org/534/a-not-so-simple-majorit...