One of the Shuls in this community put out a letter on the vaccination issue.
The letter said that unvaccinated children may not enter the Shul building. The letter was signed by both the rabbi and president of the Shul.
A friend with a young family confided his concern over this policy. He felt the policy to ban unvaccinated childten was detrimental to his family.
The issue is not whether his kids are vaccinated or not. The man is not concerned per se that anyone's kids can or can't attend services at the Shul.
The concern is this: say a family has unvaccinated kids. Say a friend of the family is getting married. There may be a Kiddush or two in honor of the marriage at the Shul. The wedding may be at the Shul.
Kids in an unvaccinated family would not be able to attend those events.
In summary, every Shul has the right and obligation to set hygienic standards. But in the process of banning unvaccinated kids, the kids are essentially banned not only from the Shul but from the Jewish community.
Now, if the case for vaccinating all kids was a slam dunk, we'd have nothing more to discuss on the subject. But the situation is more nuanced than that. Not every argument the anti-vaxers make is right; but neither are their concerns all unfounded.
I've coined a term for places that ban the unvaccinated. "Unvaxenrein" (oon-VAX-in-ryn) means free, pure, cleansed of the unvaccinated.
I note that not one case of measles has been reported to my knowledge in the Greater Washington DC area.
People with colds and the flu are not banned. People diagnosed with HIV are not banned. People who speak Lashon Hara are not banned. Yet there is more evidence of the ability of these things to infect people than there is from any illness someone unvaccinated is likely to contract at this time and place.
Subsequent to submitting this article, my friend sent me a letter from a second Shul with the same policy. I believe a number of Shuls in this community have adopted this unvaxrein practice. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e82cce2fd9b541c5ae9b49c7634769085ad486357f7b3f7123e54edc983c12c1.png
ReplyDeleteYou wrote "People with colds and the flu are not banned. People diagnosed with HIV are not banned. People who speak Lashon Hara are not banned. Yet there is more evidence of the ability of these things to infect people than there is from any illness someone unvaccinated is likely to contract at this time and place.". This is demonstrably and factually incorrect. I suggest you discuss the matter with the MD who co-signed the letter, Dr. Jeremy Brown.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't referring to KMS with that statement. It happens, as I mention in another comment here, that the guest post was not in reference to KMS, but another Shul.
ReplyDeleteYou may be quite right that if one were to actually contact the Rabbi of that other Shul, and say, "I've been sneezing all day. Could be allergy or cold. I'm supposed to Lain this Shabbos. I have no problem coming to Shul and not shaking hands. Should I do that or stay home?"
And the Rabbi might say, "Stay home." Or, "Call this doctor who is a member here. I rely on him for advice."
But we can be sure no letters to the community or postings on the community listserv seem to address colds, flu, or HIV vis-à-vis entering the building or playground area.
Subsequent to submitting this article, my friend sent me a letter from a second Shul with the same policy. I believe a number of Shuls in this community have adopted this unvaxrein practice. . https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fe00d4a472e325076b1f518a725a0fd1f6a0d01215a30116b4f917997d53df0c.jpg
ReplyDelete