Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt's polemic against antivaxxers in The Jewish Press and responses

"The Jewish Press" is a weekly newspaper that has been around for many decades. It has catered to the Orthodox Jewish Community with a clear ideological tilt towards the "Modern Orthodox" as opposed to the "Ultra Orthodox" community.All Orthodox Sabbath observant Jews do not activate electronic devices on the Sabbath except under extenuating circumstances, and so there is a sizable market for "paper" newspapers in this community. In the October 24th edition, The Jewish Press published the Op-Ed below from Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt. It was quickly spread online to other Orthodox Jewish media outlets in what appears to be a coordinated media campaign to disparage Orthodox Jewish vaccine choice proponents. As you can see, Rabbi Dr. Glatt  works for South Nassau Communities  Hospital. I have written previously about how SNCH a "non profit", is the recipient of  Vaccine Compliance grant funding from the CDC and as such Rabbi Glatt would be considered biased on this issue in Jewish law, and would be obligated to recuse himself from ruling on such matters in his rabbinic capacity.

I responded to his Op-Ed with a letter to the editor which was edited down and published in the November 2nd edition. Below are both my original letter as well as the edited version.

I also forwarded to the Jewish Press, a video of Dr. Brian Hooker in which he invites Doctors Paul Offit, Richard Pan, Robert Shanik, and Rich Roberts, and anyone else, to a civil debate on the the entire issue. The video was taken earlier this year in Manhattan at a protest objecting to an award being given to Dr. Julie Gerberding, the former head of the CDC.

It is interesting to note that the Jewish Press made sure to get a response to my letter from Rabbi Glatt for the same weeks publication.
I wrote a reply to Rabbi Glatt's response but it was not published in this weeks November 9th edition so I am including that here as well.
I was very civil in my comments despite the hostility,shrillness, and uncivil tone in Rabbi Glatt's original Op-Ed and his response to my letter. It is very clear to vaccine choice proponents that the invective being hurled against them is part of a deliberate, orchestrated,methodical, de-legitimization campaign. The Federal government and the pharmaceutical industry have spent millions of dollars developing communications strategies for the purpose of stamping out opposition to mandatory vaccination. A key part of the strategy is to belittle opponents with condescending and demeaning insults and pejoratives, online and in print. Rather than point out specifics I hereby present below the various comments so the reader can judge for themselves.

Rabbi Dr. Aaron E. Glatt

Rabbi Aaron E. Glatt, MD, FACP, FIDSA, FSHEA, is chairman of the Department of Medicine and hospital epidemiologist at South Nassau Communities Hospital and clinical professor of medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is also the assistant rabbi of the Young Israel of Woodmere.

Dying From Measles In 2018: The Anti-Vaccination Disgrace

By Rabbi Dr. Aaron E. Glatt

 October 24, 2018
There is a small, yet very vocal and influential group of “anti-vaxxers” living in our heimeshe communities. They should stop reading now as they will not like or listen to what I have to say and will write personal non-scientific scathing diatribes against me. I hope the rest of Klal Yisrael, though, keeps reading this critically important pikuah nefashos article.

Almost all the cases of measles discussed in this letter were directly related to an unvaccinated person spreading his illness – and ignorance – to others. I am very sorry if these words offend anyone, but my vaccinated granddaughter (two years old) just had to get an urgent premature second dose of MMR vaccine after being exposed in a gan in Israel, and her five-month old brother – too young to be vaccinated – had to get a painful gamma globulin shot because of incorrect and dangerous medical views. Hashem yerachem.
There is absolutely no one who disagrees with the psak that a parent must remove his or her child to safety when danger is present. Indeed, this psak serves, in part, as the basis for the ruling of HaRav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, zt”l, that providing normal childhood vaccinations is a parental obligation. HaRav Asher Weiss, shlita, poseik for Shaare Zedek Hospital, maintains it’s a mitzvah and chiyuv to get vaccinated.
HaRav Weiss further states that yeshivas have the right – and even obligation – to protect students and should not admit unvaccinated children. Both HaRav Yitzchok Zilberstein, shlita, as well as HaRav Elyashiv have ruled that parents may insist that unvaccinated children be excluded from class so that their children are not put at unnecessary risk.
Many other gedolei Yisroel – including HaRav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l, HaRav Yehoshua Newirth, zt”l, and, yibadeil bein chayim lechayim, HaRav J. David Bleich, HaRav Reuven Feinstein, HaRav Hershel Schachter, and HaRav Mordechai Willig, shlita – have ruled that there is no basis in halacha for suggesting that vaccinations be avoided.
All strongly urge and support appropriate universal vaccination against the major childhood potentially fatal illness that are preventable. It is downright dishonest to officially declare that Jewish law forbids vaccination, which is the only way in some states to avoid mandatory state vaccination laws.
So why all the headlines, anguish, and outbreaks in heimishe circles? Why did 180 children – 80 percent of whom were unvaccinated – die in the U.S. in 2017-18 from the flu along with 80,000 adults? Why do yeshivas and camps have to close down and stop learning because of mumps outbreaks? Why were six babies hospitalized with measles in the past month at Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv? Are we living in the 1950s?
In my humble opinion – as a community rav and board-certified infectious diseases physician expert – it is because we somehow have forgotten to follow basic halacha. Halacha states that if a dispute exists on whether a patient should eat on Yom Kippur, or Shabbos desecration is necessary to save a life, we follow the most competent and/or majority of experts.
On the question of vaccinating children against the major vaccine preventable illnesses, both the most competent and the majority of experts hold the same view. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, all 50 State Departments of Health in the U.S., the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society, the American College of Physicians, plus every other major professional infection control organization in the world, are unanimous in their opinion. “Leis man depalig.” No expert organization disagrees.
The evidence is overwhelming that vaccination is the only way to control these preventable fatal diseases. B’chasdei Hashem, no one dies anymore of smallpox; polio is almost wiped out. Why? Solely because of very successful vaccination programs. Rachmana leztlan, why should anyone in 5779 die from measles???
Why are people not following these medical experts as halacha requires them to? Why are my – and your – precious children and grandchildren unnecessarily exposed to lethal illnesses and forced to take painful and additional medications and shots because of the “beliefs” of non-experts?
Imagine if parents were to insist their child come to school armed with a revolver. Would even the most ardent gun rights activist defend them? Of course not. So why are we letting children come to our shuls, schools, and camps spreading serious potentially life-threatening illness that could have been prevented by vaccination?
All the major rabbinic organizations have strongly – and properly – spoken out against physician-assisted death; I myself have recently published on this subject. Therefore, I feel compelled to publicly speak out (again) against “non-vaccination assisted death” – a cause that unfortunately does not get enough similar support. Please ask your rav to speak about this topic on Shabbos. It’s a matter of pikuach nefashos.

Flatbush Anti Vaxxer unedited response  November 2

Rabbi Glatt, I invite you to participate in a civil, public debate, on the science, safety, and public policy surrounding the current public health vaccination paradigm. Dr. Brian Hooker is the scientist who exposed the recordings of conversations he had with whistle blower government scientist Dr. William Thompson which clearly demonstrate falsified vaccine safety science at the CDC. Dr. Hooker has publicly offered to debate this topic on the merits without ad hominem attacks. Contrary to your portrayal of the science being “settled” there are many credentialed, reputable scientists, from a variety of disciplines, who have identified problematic issues with the safety profile of the current CDC vaccine recommendations. Insofar as the science surrounding vaccine safety has been falsified, and is incomplete, the various Piskei Halacha which were based on these false scientific assumptions are inherently null and void. The public is right to be concerned when the medical establishment quashes debate and dissension on this issue and suppresses science that contradicts the current accepted dogma.

Flatbush Anti Vaxxer edited/censored response as it appeared in the Jewish Press November 2 Rabbi Glatt, I would like you to publicly debate the science, safety, and public policy surrounding the current public health vaccination program with Dr. Brian Hooker, who exposed recordings of conversations he had with whistle blower government scientist Dr. William Thompson, clearly demonstrating that vaccine safety science at the CDC has been falsified.
Contrary to your portrayal of the science being “settled,” there are many credentialed, reputable scientists from a variety of disciplines who have identified problems with the safety profile of the current CDC vaccine recommendations.
Since the science surrounding vaccine safety has been falsified, and is incomplete, the various piskei halacha based on this science are null and void. The public is right to be concerned when the medical establishment quashes debate on this issue and suppresses science that contradicts the current accepted dogma.

Anonymous

Another responder from November 2

Is The Hep B Vaccine Necessary?
I generally agree with Rabbi Glatt’s article. However I’d be cautious with how much power the government has in this matter. Case in point:
After my son was born, the hospital scheduled a bunch of vaccinations for him, including a Hepatitis B shot on the second day of his life. I told the doctor I didn’t want my son to get that shot as it didn’t make sense for an infant to get immunized against a disease that has the same risk factors as HIV/AIDS.
I was told I could postpone it, but that he would eventually need it to enter the school system. When I asked the doctor “Why?” and said it didn’t make sense to vaccinate infants against Hep B, she became defensive and gave me PC reasons for why it was necessary.
I later researched the issue and came to the conclusion that the vaccine is required for all infants so as not to discriminate against heroin-addicted mothers and others who engage in risky behavior that could put their infants at higher risk of infection.
Since vaccinations are not risk-free, I’d like to have the option of opting out of vaccinations for diseases for which my children are at little to no risk of contracting, and which cannot be spread by casual contact.

Jon Rubin,
Mountain House, CA

Rabbi Glatt November 2

Rabbi Dr. Glatt responds: I usually do not respond to anonymous letters. Suffice to say that the misinformation provided in this anonymous letter is typical of the non-science-based anti-vaccination lobby, and is parroted straight from the anti-vaxxer movie “Vaxxed.”
William Thompson (the so-called “CDC whistleblower”) himself has commented publicly: “I want to be absolutely clear that I believe vaccines have saved and continue to save countless lives. I would never suggest that any parent avoid vaccinating children of any race. Vaccines prevent serious diseases, and the risks associated with their administration are vastly outweighed by their individual and societal benefits.”
This is the person anti-vaxxers rely on to support their cause?
There is no expert medical opinion arguing that the vaccinations I wrote about are not strongly recommended. None. And again, all poskim require one to follow appropriate medical advice.
I thank Mr. Rubin for his thoughtful comment. I have publicly stated that not all vaccines are perfect, not all are appropriate for all populations, and not all vaccines should be treated the same.
While I strongly support giving the hepatitis B vaccine, which has helped countless lives, including shomer Torah u’mitzvos Jews, my article did not discuss this vaccine, as it has a minimal impact on other people. If someone refuses to get this vaccine, he or she is mostly only hurting him or herself. The vaccines I was discussing, in contrast, are easily spread in a classroom, beis medrash, or shul, and are a public health concern to others.
There is no posek who writes that vaccination is forbidden according to halacha. None. Therefore, it is sheker to defy state laws mandating vaccination claiming a religious exemption. Not wanting to vaccinate one’s children is a personal preference, which state law does not recognize.
Bottom line: State law requires vaccination. Dina d’malchusa dina. The children of a person who flouts this law are not allowed into school since they are needlessly exposing other children to danger. Vaccinate or home-school – those are the only two options.
Ultimately, we all must answer only to Hashem. However, when our actions impact other people, the laws of damages, grama and garmi, come into play. One simply does not have the halachic right to place others at risk.


My response to Rabbi Glatt's November 2nd response. The Jewish Press decided not to publish it, at least for the November 9th edition
Vaccine choice advocates derisively known as "Anti Vaxxers" seek two things. 1. A long term, large scale, comprehensive study, comparing ALL health outcomes including ALL cause mortality, between a fully unvaccinated population and a vaccinated population. 2. A civil and respectful public debate between scientists from both sides of the controversy. The CDC has refused to conduct such a so called vaxxed versus unvaxxed study in children or adults. This despite the Aabe study in Africa, and the Mawson study in the US that demonstrate that mass vaccination programs may be causing far more harm than good.The leading proponents of vaccination have refused to engage in debate on current public policy or scientific questions surrounding mass vaccination efforts. Instead they declare that the science is "settled there is no debate".
It is undeniable that there has been an exponential increase in the rate of neurodevelopmental disorders,psychiatric disorders,auto immune disease,cancer, and infertility, over the last 30 years. The EPA has noted that 1989 was the change point year which signaled the beginning of the exponential climb in the Autism prevalence rate.
We believe it is no coincidence that this is only a few short years after the 1986 vaccine injury compensation act.This legislation removed product liability from vaccine manufacturers and opened the door for the introduction of  many additional vaccines to the CDC schedule which were never adequately tested for safety.
Although the quest to wipe out infectious diseases from mankind is a noble endeavor, the scientific method obligates us to make certain that we have not eliminated one scourge and replaced it with others.
The statement Rabbi Dr. Glatt quotes from Dr William Thompson was made by Dr Thompson's whistle blower attorney on his behalf. I would ask why Rabbi Glatt only picked one paragraph out of a nine paragraph statement. Ironically, the full statement is featured on the "Vaxxed" website.
The CDC has prohibited Dr Thompson from speaking publicly on this matter. The only public statements we have from Dr Thompson himself are the ones recorded and released by Dr Brian Hooker. Dr Brian Hooker has graciously agreed to debate the scientific and public policy issues at any time and venue in a civilized and respectful forum. He is in the New York metropolitan area at least once a month. I urge Rabbi Dr. Glatt and other compulsory vaccine advocates in our community to take him up on the offer.
Rabbi Glatt's declaration of "Vaccinate or home school" is telling. It is an absolutist and extreme public policy posture that should raise many alarm bells.  
I thank the Jewish Press for allowing me to comment on this very important issue anonymously. The reason I wish to remain anonymous is because of the very real threats that vaccine choice activists face, including death threats, threats from child protective services and departments of health, social exclusion, expulsion from school, and loss of employment.
Sincerely,
"Flatbush Anti Vaxxer"