Doctors and prominent rabbis encourage children to be vaccinated, yet some parents remain suspicious. The ultra-orthodox action group PEACH distributes leaflets and magazines against vaccination. They claim the inoculations contain cells from human fetuses, DNA from pigs and that the shots cause autism or other disorders. Scientists call the claims nonsense.
“It’s unfair to the kids,” complains a father at the school. “The parents choose not to vaccinate, but the children get sick.” He is silent as he weighs his words. He winds his curls around his fingers. “I think only a small group of people refuse to vaccinate children. Fortunately, the mayor is taking increasingly tougher measures.”
He is referring to Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York. With the Passover holiday approaching, he wants to curb the measles before the disease spreads further. Children who have not been vaccinated are not allowed to go to school in parts of this district. De Blasio also plans to fine parents of unvaccinated children $1,000.
‘Not the right information’
Once most children are in school in Williamsburg, the streets are dominated by grown men dressed in black. In between, Miryam pushes a pram in front of her. “Why does everyone here have old-fashioned cell phones?” she asks with a laugh. “We don’t want smartphones that affect the quality of life. That’s why many people only have internet at work.”
But that also has drawbacks, as Miryam experiences at work at a Jewish primary school. “My job is to convince parents to get the shot. But that’s not easy if they have little access to the internet. They once came to their own opinion and we can’t offer them the right information online.”
Also dangerous in developed countries
The alarm bells ringing in the United States at this measles outbreak has to do with the fact that the disease killed nine children in Philadelphia in 1991. However, these remain exceptional circumstances. In developed countries, measles is relatively unlikely to cause death. However, the health risks can be significant. The disease can lead to brain and pneumonia, as well as permanent deafness.
Gary Schlesinger is the leader of the medical practice Parking in Williamsburg. The vast majority of visitors are Jewish. To prevent his patients from contracting measles in his clinic, he bans people who do not have themselves vaccinated.
He also spoke with people from the anti-vaccination activist group. Schlesinger tried to make it clear to them that the vaccinations are kosher since you don’t eat them, you inject them. “But I can’t get through to them. Too bad, because this hardcore group is really spreading misinformation.”
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