Orthodox Jewish camp banning children, staff vaccinated against coronavirus

Summer is coming COVID-19 (New Coronavirus Infection) Vaccines are considered safe for 12-year-old children, and some camps are discussing the possibility of vaccinated campers having an unmasked summer.

An advertisement for Camp Hikon, planned in northern New York, was orthodox Jewish shortly after a private school in Miami discouraged teachers from vaccination and told children not to contact vaccinated people. It was posted on a popular mailing list in the human community. ..

The camp announcement came when a poster urging people not to get the COVID-19 vaccine was posted in Midwood, Brooklyn, an orthodox district where one member of the founding team runs a natural food store. Will also be done.

This development suggests that sentiment against vaccination and misinformation on COVID are taking new forms in the Jewish community, where skepticism and violations of public health regulations are relatively high.

Camp Hikon aims to prepare Yeshiva boys for what is called “political, environmental and economic” change. Vaccinated campers and staff are not allowed to participate, even though they have stated that they are interested in preparing campers for “natural disasters”.

Brooklyn-based self-proclaimed “health coach” Naphtali Schwartz, who has set up the camp and has no formal medical or public health training, said the rule is unlikely to keep anyone away. ..

“Most people who come are not taking the vaccine because of the type of demographics I envision,” Schwartz told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Utilizing the uncovered theory disseminated by the anti-vaccination movement, the camp website cites the “ nature” of the COVID-19 vaccine. According to a false theory, living in a densely populated area with vaccinated people can “promote” the spread of the coronavirus. This website introduces readers to a site called Nutri Truth, which claims that vaccines are “biological weapons,” and live-streamed discussions among several prominent anti-vaccines.

According to the website, “I’m sorry I can’t accept campers or counselors who have already received any of these injections.”

Schwartz said he made the rules for “suspicious symptoms that occur in unvaccinated people who spend a lot of time with vaccinated people.”

“This is real and anxious, even parents who are planning to become campers have reported,” Schwartz said.

The idea that unvaccinated people can be harmed by spending time with people who have received the COVID vaccine is not true. Vaccinated people cannot remove particles that can affect nearby people from the vaccine.

Another uncovered theory was found in a poster this week in Midwood, a very orthodox district of Brooklyn. Unsigned posters discouraged vaccination for reasons such as the potential risk of orthodox Jewish fertility (another condemned theory).

“Many Rabbonims who have studied the COVID vaccine thoroughly have told them not to take it urgently,” one leaflet read using the Yiddish rabbi.

The leaflet contained a link to an online pamphlet with the name of the rabbi who allegedly opposed the coronavirus vaccine. We also promoted COVID treatments such as hydroxychloroquine, which studies have shown to be ineffective. The drug was promoted by Dr. Vladimir Zelenco, an orthodox doctor whose treatment protocol was promoted by Donald Trump when he was president, working in the Hasidic land of Kiriyas Joel until last summer. It was.

The online pamphlet claimed that people did not die from the coronavirus. “They died due to either lack of proper treatment of Corona, or other negligence or inadequate treatment in the hospital,” the pamphlet said.

Anti-vaccine in the pockets of the Orthodox Jewish community suffering from measles in 2019 after a child traveling to Israel spread the disease among other unvaccinated children in Brooklyn and northern New York The feelings of measles remain persistent. The outbreak was curbed after the New York City Department of Health fined parents who refused to vaccinate their children and threatened to close Yeshiva, where unvaccinated children could participate. The state of New York has terminated non-medical exemptions from school vaccination requirements, leading to increased vaccinations.

According to New York City Department of Health COVID vaccination data, only 18% of the residents of Barapark are fully vaccinated and 28% are partially vaccinated. In Midwood, only 22% of the population is fully vaccinated and 30% are partially vaccinated. By comparison, of the 10024 zip code residents of the Upper West Side, one of the most vaccinated areas in the city, 54% are fully vaccinated and 65% are partially vaccinated. Have been vaccinated.

It is not yet known if Camp Hikon will actually get off the ground. So far, the child has not been registered and Schwartz has not yet obtained permission to run the camp.

But he has a clear vision of what happens there. Masks are not encouraged in the camp. According to the website, campers will be treated “with abundant vitamin D and other precautions” as to how the camp will fight the COVID-19 epidemic.

The camp seems to combine survival training with Torah learning. The camp’s main goal is to prepare the camper for a future where political instability, economic instability and extreme weather events can cause supply chain problems that disrupt our daily lives. According to the website, the campers will build their own shelter and the camp will offer special shoes for survival settings.

“We are responding to the demographics of awakening families. They understand that future years are not the same as past years,” Schwartz said.