It seemed like a sequence of events from another era, rather than the year 2024: A five-week-old baby from the Jerusalem area died of whooping cough about a week ago because his mother did not get vaccinated during pregnancy. Two days later, a seven-year-old girl from Netanya, who had not been vaccinated against tetanus, was admitted to the intensive care unit at Laniado Hospital after contracting the bacteria from a fall and injury. It was later revealed that her parents had refused to vaccinate her.
Dr. Maurit Beeri, a pediatrician and director general of ALYN Rehabilitation Hospital for Children and Youth, says that these events should never have occurred. "Unfortunately, these incidents can no longer be considered 'bizarre.' In recent years, we have seen a trend where people re-evaluate expert recommendations and make decisions without informed knowledge. When it comes to preventing infectious diseases, we see a decline in vaccination rates, especially within certain population groups. We must remember that these things spread and endanger us all," according to Beeri. "If we used to call it 'Dr. Google,' today it's 'Professor TikTok.' Everyone has their own agenda and platform with wide reach. Since COVID-19, instead of expressing gratitude for vaccines that saved us from lockdowns, people have become more emboldened to refuse vaccinations for other diseases as well."
"People don't differentiate between new and old vaccines. When we talk about routine vaccinations for infants, these are vaccines with data from millions of children. We're talking about diseases that have almost disappeared from the world," according to Beeri. "I've been a doctor for 30 years and had never seen a case of tetanus. It's a terrible disease, causing excruciating pain. Children in developing countries still die from it, and it's entirely unnecessary. I grew up in a place where there was hysteria over tetanus from every rusty nail, but today we're in a different place."
She continues: "Tetanus is a dreadful disease, causing indescribable suffering, and it's entirely unnecessary. Have you ever woken up at night with a muscle cramp in your leg? Have you ever pulled a muscle during physical activity? Now imagine your entire body, all at once, cramping up. Everything contorts in different directions. You can't move. Every finger stiffens to the point of breaking bones. You can't even scream because your jaw is locked and your tongue is stuck to the roof of your mouth. Breathing is difficult. This is how children died before the tetanus vaccine was invented, with terrified eyes and no ability to call for help. This is a description I read in books. I never saw it because the children who played outside, fell, and got injured were vaccinated."
"I assume you encounter this in your conversations with parents bringing their children," she says. "We see every day that expert opinions no longer mean anything. Everyone's opinion is considered equally valid, and there is no regard for someone with acquired, learned and respected knowledge compared to anyone else who raises any claim."
"Conspiracy theories are not just in medicine; they affect everything related to the society around us. When it comes to medicine and the risk to children, young people and vulnerable individuals, deciding not to vaccinate because 'my kids are fine' is not the right decision,"she said.
Dr. Maurit Beeri"I grew up in a world where children weren't strapped into car seats, and most of us survived. But I work in child rehabilitation, and I see the children who weren't strapped in car seats. I also see the children who come in with various diseases that can't be prevented. I tell everyone: prevent what you can. You don't understand what happens to a family with an injured child or, God forbid, a child who has died. It's hardship, it's suffering, it's terrible. You don't want to go there. Don't take such risks; it's not worth it. It's unnecessary," Beeri warned.
Last week, Ynet revealed alarming data on vaccination rates in ultra-Orthodox communities and the Jerusalem area. At the top of the list are Arab and Druze communities. The data shows that the lowest vaccination rates against whooping cough, as part of the pentavalent vaccine given as the first dose to children at two months old, which also includes components against diphtheria, tetanus, polio and Haemophilus influenzae type B, were found almost exclusively in Jerusalem and in religious or ultra-Orthodox communities, as well as in settlements beyond the Green Line.
Beeri concludes: "I am really angry. What is wrong with you - parents who surely love your children - when you neglect them and allow them to contract diseases that have already been eradicated? When you feel like protectors of your offspring by refusing to vaccinate them because you think you know better than everyone else? You fear very rare complications and leave them exposed to much more dangerous diseases?"