The war against measles

Parents of kindergarten children accuse parents of not vaccinating their children from the spreading measles epidemic, often using offensive language. Many are wondering how to prevent unvaccinated children from going to school and arguing about whether to go on strike and to stop kindergarten altogether.

Last Thursday, a toddler aged one and a half died of measles in Jerusalem. The disease has been diagnosed in more than 1,200 patients in the past eight months, including 600 last month. About half of the patients are children under four years old. Following these developments, the Knesset is working on a vaccine bill that will require parents to vaccinate their children.

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Roni Golani, the daughter of one and a half year old Ezer and Doris of Rishon LeZion, caught measles six months ago, a week before the scheduled date for vaccination. "We had two very difficult weeks with a fever that would not go down, a rash all over the body, headaches and ear pain," said the parents.

"Roni could not eat, drink or sleep, she was hospitalized in isolation and her birthday party was canceled. The most frightening part was the fear of possible complications. This epidemic would not have begun had it not been for parents who refuse to vaccinate their children. We are asking the government and the Ministry of Health to adopt this law, "she said.

MP Yoel Hbadon (Zionist Union) and MP Shuli Mualem-Rafaeli (Bayit Yehudi) have already introduced a bill on vaccination. This is the first time that the Knesset is preparing to discuss a national strategy to deal with the problem. The bill includes keeping track of unvaccinated children in the records of the Ministry of Health, sending notifications to parents and finally inviting parents to an educational meeting at the end of which they will have to sign a waiver if they still refuse to vaccinate their children and could receive penalties or have their children removed from educational institutions in the event of an epidemic.

"I can not understand parents who are precarious for the health of their children and do not vaccinate them in 2018," said Michal, a mother of two. She is part of a group of mothers who decided not to send their children to school on September 1 and went on strike so that the issue of anti-vaccines be addressed.

Roni Golani, Eis's daughter aged one and a half and Doris de Rishon LeZion, caught measles six months ago – a week before the planned vaccination

"We hear about an occasional kindergarten teacher who decides not to allow registration unless the parents present a vaccination registry." But that's not what it should be, "said Michal. "Behind every child is a story, and I find it awful that we boycot children when they did nothing wrong. It is parents who make choices that endanger the health and safety of their children … choices that have a social price. "

In recent years, the refusal to vaccinate children has become a trend. Parents have many explanations: vaccines cause autism, developmental problems and the diseases themselves, such as measles.

The trend is more popular in central Israel, especially in anthroposophic kindergartens, where nearly a quarter of children are not vaccinated. This is also a trend in the ultra-Orthodox community. The toddler who died Thursday was born into a family of Neturei Karta, an anti-Zionist group of highly orthodox Jews in Jerusalem.

Experts say that once even a few percent of the population are not vaccinated against measles, an epidemic can occur, also putting vaccinated children at risk.

In private children's gardens for children under three, who are not under government control, some teachers have already begun to prevent unvaccinated children from enrolling in their schools unless parents do not present a vaccination record. However, this demand is illegal in kindergartens, kindergartens and public schools from three years old. Therefore, it is impossible to prevent unvaccinated children from entering public gardens and public schools.

"I caused a general mutiny of parents," said Hani, a mother of a 2.5-year-old child. "Once I realized that there was an unvaccinated child in the kindergarten, I made a huge mess for the teacher. I made a lot of noise in the WhatsApp group of parents. The teacher had no choice but to remove the child from the unvaccinated clbad. Fortunately it is a private institution, so she has no legal problem to do it, "she added.

"The mother of the child tried to fight back, she said that she will have to quit her job for me, but with all due respect, you do not worry about the health of the children. I heard that the child had then found an anthroposophic children's garden, where no one was asking questions. It's crazy, next year my son will go to kindergarten in the state, where everyone can decide what looks good to him and not vaccinate his child, and there is no way to fight it. We absolutely need a law against that, what are they waiting for? no more children to die? ", continued Hani.

"Parents who do not vaccinate their children rely on the immunity system of vaccinated children," said Sarit, a teacher's aide in a nursery school in the center of the country. "Fortunately, in our kindergarten, most children are vaccinated, and parents who do not vaccinate not only expose other children to diseases, but also the staff," she added.

Sarit later criticized the blatant outrage of some parents, who blame the unvaccinated children and their parents.

"This is not the way to manage anti-vaccine parents, even if an unvaccinated child exposes me and my children to the disease. The ministries of health and education are the ones who must act. Not the parents, and not a designated group of WhatsApp against this or that child – today, it is the unvaccinated children and tomorrow, it is the one who has lice, "she continued.

Until the 1960s, it was clear that everyone was going to get measles. Parents even organized "Infection Parties" because it was believed that it was best to contract the disease as a child.

"Once, measles was a given," said Dr. Erez Garty, of the Davidson Institute of Science Education. "The mortality was between 1: 500 and 1: 1000, depending on the health care system of each country. It is a moderate disease, the complications can be serious, one of which can not appear until seven years after infection. An infected person can also contract the SSPE syndrome that causes degeneration of the brain and nervous system, "he explained.

According to experts, measles could already have been eradicated, if not for the anti-vaccine trend of the past year. According to Dr. Garty, in the 1960s, when the measles vaccine was released, the percentages of infection dropped dramatically.

"It cleaned up the hospitals. The vaccine also protects people who can not be vaccinated, such as children under one year of age, cancer patients and others, "Garty said. "The vaccine is not only a personal defense mechanism but also a social one. When you have your children vaccinated, you also take care of the newborn who has not been vaccinated yet and the 80-year-old grandmother. In the west, measles has almost been eradicated, but has returned because of anti-vaccine parents. In Europe, 41,000 people have been infected, it is like a fire raging, "he lamented.

"For the moment, measles is far from being eradicated," said Professor Itzik Levy, from the Infectious Diseases Unit of Schneider Medical Center for Children. "It's a very contagious viral disease and it's airborne – one of the only diseases that can be caught just by being in the same room as an infected person."

"The first signs of measles are a fever, a cough and an eye infection, followed by a rash four days later that moves from the top to the bottom of the body. This stage lasts five days, after which the patient enters the recovery stage. Possible complications include pneumonia, meningitis, cerebral encephalitis and ear infections, "added Professor Levy.

Starting in the early 1970s, one year old babies in Israel receive a vaccine and a booster at the age of six. "The vaccine is called RROV and contains a weakened live virus, as well as vaccines against mumps, rubella and chicken pox," said Professor Levy. "It's very efficient – over 95% – and also very safe. Side effects may include a slight swelling in the injection area and sometimes fever next week, but nothing else, "he continued.

In recent years, the number of parents who choose not to vaccinate their children is increasing. "They each have their reasons. There is an ultra-orthodox population that does not have a primary vaccination and other populations who oppose the vaccine because they fear that it is not safe. There is a rumor that the vaccine can cause autism, even though it has been tested on thousands of children and no link has been proven. We are seeing epidemics in these populations, "concluded Professor Levy.

"This is not just a case or two in the ultra-Orthodox Neturei Karta neighborhood," said Galit, a mother of three from the Sharon area. "We received a call from our general practitioner for him to be examined, as well as all the people who took a flight from the Turkish airline to Israel. Apparently, there was a sick person on board who exposed us all to the disease. "

"It resonated with me because I was also wondering if I should vaccinate my grade 8 student for HPV," continued Galit. "It was the town's speech with friends and the WhatsApp parent groups, but once I had this frightening phone call about being exposed to measles during the flight, my doubts were gone . I signed the form and told my daughter that she was getting the vaccine, and there is no doubt about it. "