EXCLUSIVE: Two Lakewood infants are in critical condition after contracting Pertussis, Dr. Shanik has confirmed to TLS. Pertussis, also known as Whooping Cough, is caused by a bacterium that lives in the mouth, nose and throat. Symptoms start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough – similar to a cold – but within weeks becomes more severe and progresses to severe spasms of coughing that can interfere with eating, drinking and breathing.
The bacteria is spread by direct contact with respiratory droplets, such as through coughing and sneezing, from an infected person or by touching the fluids and then touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
Dr. Shanik says the very contagious illness is so severe, that if his patients are not properly immunized, he apologizes, but for the safety of his patients and the community, he will discontinue to see that patient in his practice.
Any parent whose child is in a playgroup with a child not properly immunized against Pertussis, should immediately pull their child out of the playgroup, Dr. Shanik says.
The two Lakewood children, ages 6 weeks and 8 months, are in ICU in critical condition. TLS/NB-RH.
Why weren’t these children immunized? Also, can an immunized child catch it?
Refuah shelaima to them! Any names for tehillim?
If my infant got all the regular immunizations, does that mean he got immunized against pertussis?
Names for tehillim?
These children were not immunized because of their age! Pertussis vaccine is given several times up to the age of 1 year. An immunized child cannot catch it, but by the teenage years, and certainly in adulthood, most people’s immunity wears off.
These children were not immunized because of their age! Pertussis vaccine is given several times before the age of 1 year.
An immunized child cannot catch it, but by the teenage years, and certainly in adulthood, most people’s immunity wears off.
Its a standerd immunization !
They were probably too young for the vaccine, but most likely caught it from an older child who was NOT vaccinated. (moderated)
Babies under 6 months old do not get the shot, that means anybody who is not immunized can give it to those babies.
There sadly are irresponsible parents in this town that don’t immunize their children they are endangering their children and the lives of all if our children
I don’t know the story here but to all those judging parents who choose not to vaccinate, it may be a good idea to quit it. You don’t either know the complete story so sop judging.
children are commonly immunized for pertussis with the DPT at age 2, 4, 6 months so either the 8 month old caught it anyway or wasn’t immunized.
#7 nobody asked you for your two cents. Your comment is a bad taste of words at best and oinoas devorim at worst…
By the way, there are TOP pediatricians (even in Lakewood) who have their own opinions on shots and when they must be given if at all. Not every doctor agrees with the state requirements from a medical perspective however they are mandated by the state to give the shots so they do. The whole Parsha of vaccinations is NOT clear and yaysh Gedolay Rofim al pi lismoch whichever way you choose.
There are absolutely zero medical studies against standard shots, no respectable doctor would ever embarrass himself by supporting insane, dangerous theories not supported by any scientific data.
“Any parent whose child is in a playgroup with a child not properly immunized against Pertussis, should immediatly pull their child out of the playgroup, Dr. Shanik says”. Why should we pull our kid out if he was vaccinated, is he trying to say that the vaccine doesn’t help protect you?
#13
Would like to know who the “TOP Paediatrician in Lakewood” is?? I’m in the field and have never heard of this ! We all know that with out DPT we can have many cases witch are very dangerous per year and anyone who does not do its is endangering lives and may have to answer on day to someone more powerful then the state!
The whole parsha of vaccinations is not clear until people start getting critically ill
#13 it amazes me to hear how people will belch out their opinion without the slighest knowledge of bacteria and medicine. i have studied microbiology (yes i went to college- gasp!) and i can tell that ‘kula alma lo pligi’ that vacccines are effective at building up your immune system’s resistance. the question isn’t whether should we vaccinate or not but rather which vaacines are considered imperative to be given at a young age example MMR or is it better to wait until the child has a stronger immune system
Actually every morah, babysitter, and mosad in lakewood should demand full proof of imunization before accepting a child. chamira sakanta.
All facilities licensed by the state of NJ to care for children have to. Why should “fly by night” morahs not at least have some of the responsibilities mandated by dina demalchusa?
#13
You sound like you have “GROISE PLAITZES” to make such a Major statement! I hope you are ready to take the Achrayis too!
Rav (moderated) paskend that not immunizing your child you are being mazik es horabim and endangering lives, RC”L!
I’m pretty sure this isn’t a new policy by Dr Shanik, pretty sure he’s had this policy for a while.
hashem yishmor!
Sounds like your saying that Hashem didn’t know what he was doing when he made mankind bec. he made our immune system so lacking that our kids need a whopping 105 different vaccinations [for ex. DTaP is 3 together given 4 times=12] before they are old enough to start school!
i think the oilam is BROGES !!! lets all take a chill pill- if you want to get vaccinated than go ahead and if not than dont!!! everyone just look into your own nose not your next door neighbors
The older child’s name is Yisroel Meir ben Sarah Gittel. He really needs rachmei shomaim!
I had Whooping Cough when I was 13 years old DESPITE being immunized ! The shots dont mean you wont get it so dont blame the parents if the kids have it. Whooping Cough is NOT fun at all. I used to cough so much I would black out.
#13,
” yaysh Gedolay Rofim al pi lismoch” whether or not you will be killed running across Rt-9 in traffic. But would you do it?
your argument is foolish.
vacination only workes if everyone does it. If you dont vacinate your child you are endagering MY babies. Ask any competant rov.
to 24. Sixty years ago many got polio. . Hashem gave permision to heal. Old story.
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-dtap.pdf
read it. It is clear. Yes of course the strong Tzad without question is to give your children the shot. This link will show you which children should not get it. Perhaps this applies to the infected children. All of those who choose to bash me are invited to first ask their pediatrician before spewing your opinions. I have 8 children use a TOP DOCTOR in Lakewood. Yes all of my children have almost all of their shots. 1 of my children had convulsions so the risk that my others may also have is a concern. My Doctor (from the Gedolay Rofim) discusses all shots with me in detail and helps decide together which we should risk and which we shouldn’t. My Doctor takes the time to treat my children as individuals rather then just children in a system controlled by government. My Doctor looks out for the best for my children and not what the government decides. I repeat my kids do have and get their shots but those of you blogging here to knock me should first talk to their Doctor. YOUR Doctor as well not just your pediatrician. You may be surprised at what you hear.
Interesting how the 1st half of my response (I’m #13) was moderated and only the 2nd part was put in!
To baalbitachon:
The only baal you are is a baal-bris. Definitely not a baal-sechel. Did you ever visit a doctor? Did you know that the average life-span not 100 years ago was maybe 55 if not younger? Who do you think provided mankind with the wisdom to research and find vaacinations which would improve the quality of life? Maybe you worship the baal but aa real baal bitachon you ain’t.
http://www.freemediinfo.com/dpt.asp
This link explains the risks even better.
Again, no question it is a shot children should get but don’t dismiss the parents who choose and or the Doctors who decide against giving it to a specific child
A nursing baby is supposed to have immunity through its mother for the first six months. I personally would not immunize a baby under 6 months .
if you really want to read more on this why not try
http://thinktwice.com/dpt.htm
So now all you who bashed me………perhaps there is more to it then you claim to know. I welcome your links to show where it says every child must have the shot. I am not challenging Dr. Shanik and of course all of his patients should listen to him for if they don’t trust him they why use him. BUT, if you have another Doctor who you rely on then speak to him or her and get your professional advice from the one who knows your child(ren)
@13 oy vey The reason why you’re getting bashed is because you made it seem that regular healthy children have a valid option of not getting vaccinations. If you would’ve said clearly that SOME children shouldn’t get them, noone would argue. Of course in SOME special cases children shouldn’t get vaccinated, but the idea that both ways ie not getting vaccinations is ok got some people quite upset!
stop posting links to junk science lunacy. There has not been a single medical controled study linking vaccines to anything negative. They save lives!
stop posting links to junk science lunacy. There has not been a single medical controled study linking vaccines to anything negative. They save lives! .
Dr Shanik is 100% correct, first the two kids should have a r”s. He is talking about parents that take kids to get “adjustments” by the chiropractor. Chiropractors are good for some stuff not to be adjusting a 9 month old kids head for an ear infection. when the kids are older maybe but the people that take kids so young are (moderated) because your kids can’t tell you if something is wrong. Now these people are also not taking the kids for regular shots because they do the natural stuff. So my advise is they should all get together and make a natural playgroup.
The fanatical anti vaccination lobby is generally born out of parents that nebach have a child diagnosed with autism. (moderated) This hashkofa has no place amongst true maaminim.
My son came down with pertusis this year at the age of 15. He was fully vacccinated and had received the booster as well. We don’t know how he contracted it and no one else in the family boruch hashem caught it from him??!!! It is a very frightening disease-I watched it!
to # 24
Hashem did not have internet or cars…..do you?
PLEASE, (moderated) does not accept you without the required immunizations.
if its a shaila of pikuach nefesh for your kid, who gives you/the md the right to decide.
if its a question of pikuach nefesh for other children, u may c”vs be a rotzeacha and posul to duchen.
SEICHEL!
Link don’t mean a thing! I can also write stuff on the net and let you what ever I wrote in the name of a Doctor that know one know ! Just give me one respectable Doctor or research then you can post link. If not it is a issue of not only ‘chotah’ but also ‘machtiah es ho’rabim’ and if you can’t name Doctor or a Rov that agrees with you the claim is pretty shallow
There are plenty of health freaks in Lakewood who listen to kooks & don`t immunize. They should be the first not allowed into schools until they have done so.
Do the “undocumented immigrants” that live in Lakewood have their shots? Maybe your child will catch it from one of them. Or maybe your cleaning lady is carrying the germs into your house? Just wondering.
I Just recently had baby and my ob gave me a booster at my post partum visit claiming that the only way to protect infants against the whooping cough is that those around the baby are not sick. Therefore, since adults need to get a booster shot, I got the booster. He said my husband should also get the booster.
I think that the point of taking your immunized child out of playgroup if another child is not immunized, puts pressure on the Morah to verify immunization and to kick that child out if no other children show up because of the non immunized child.
to #45
yes we get all our shots courtesy of the same system that everyone else does social services.
don’t blame us ,my wife cleans some homes that are beyond filthy
it’s a wonder there isn’t more sickness, diseases
To combat the idea that vaccines can cause harm:
I was recently in Israel and we visited a Bedouin tent in the desert. We were explained that there are poisonous snakes everywhere, so they let the small snakes bite the children under 3 years old so that they get sick mildly, and become immune. Here you have immunization in the purest form – they said you don’t know how many lives have been saved this way. I find it hard to believe that a sterilized, FDA approved vaccine will cause more harm than a poisonous snakebite.
If you make the decision not to vaccinate you gotta stand by it and homeschool your kids.
It’s hard to believe that Dr. Shanik would suggest pulling children from playgroups where other kids are not vaccinated. He believes that vaccines prevent contracting whooping cough, so your children wouldn’t be harmed if they are vaccinated. If they’re under the age where they’re fully vaccinated, and there is concern that they are not completely protected from the bacteria, then they can contract the illness from the other immunized children at school in the same situation. Why this dramatic cause for alarm?
So many irresponsible things being posted here on this issue, any parent who would not vacinate their child against these diseases is being irresponsible . How could you putyour child in such harms way?
I am the parent of a child with autism, and all my kids have had all their immunizations. Those that do not immunize are people that think they are smarter. My kid did not get autism from his shots, he was born with it.
How about pulling your kid out of any playgroup where the Morah did not have her booster shot?
There is another strain of whooping cough, called parapertussis, highly similar to pertussis, for which there is no vaccine. Is it known which organism is involved in the current outbreak?
Hi yackov keep up the fight as we all know you are %100 right
The CDC recommends keeping the “unvaccinated” home during an outbreak because they might get sick, they are not worried about the vaccinated catching the disease, so why does Dr. Shanik say to keep the vaccinated home if they aren’t at risk?
actually to add on to comment #24 God did know what he was doing when he created the world thats why God created a herb called violata oderata which cures whooping cough!!!
to #52 I agree with you, there is no reason why a child should not have all their shots, it takes only one child to get sick and spread it around, when your child is sick don’t send them to school or play group, I always kept my child home I did not want to be the one whose child got everyone sick, as for Dr Shanik he does not want to get the healthy kids sick, I don’t blame him at all,
“At the 34th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics, presented a study linking the DPT shot with SIDS. “These data show that DPT vaccination may be a generally unrecognized major cause of sudden infant and early childhood death, and that the risks of immunization may outweigh its potential benefits. A need for reevaluation and possible modification of current vaccination procedures is indicated by this study.” –Harris Coulter
Walker et al. found “the SIDS mortality rate in the period zero to three days following DPT to be 7.3 times that in the period beginning 30 days after immunization.”26 Fine and Chen reported that babies died at a rate nearly eight times greater than normal within 3 days after getting a DPT vaccination.27
To those who say there is no reason to have shots…There is reason! They have poisons and heavy metals in them that someone else deemed is worth the risk.
Above that, specifically, the flu shot is one where SOME of the vaccines do not have mercury in them. The Ocean County Board of Health says they dont know which batch does not have mercury.
Do you believe that? I dont. If they feel those batches would be in more demand, then make all of them sans mercury.
Who wants to shoot mercury into their veins? And if it has a disease prevention in the serum, are you not still shooting mercury into your veins? How dumb can this country get?
This issue is part debate on vaccines. But Dr Shanik is making this an issue of a doctor withholding treatment when his patient is ill.
Suppose he recommended someone have their tonsils out, or worse, appendix. And the parents declined at some point.
All of a sudden the child is chas veshalom very sick with a throat infection or stomach pains and inflamed appendix….He is going to refuse to examine the patient and advise the family accordingly?
That does not seem overly kosher.
@ Baloney – brush up on your research. The vaccines do NOT have mercury in them. Every single one of the lawsuits was shot down and proven to be a fraud. You are quoting the most basic piece of misinformation as the premise for your comment – all you need to do is google the fact that you quoted and your whole little theory goes down the drain. Seriously – READ, people!
All the mothers that don’t give their children the proper vaccinations have a right not too, but please keep them away from my children
As a boy I caught everything going around unless I had been vaccinated. I had one smallpox vaccine and seven polio vaccines (3 Salk and 4 Sabins), and possibly some others. I never caught them, but had two unvaccinated friends who caught polio. I myself caught mumps, measles, “German” measles, chicken pox, and the the category 2 Asiatic flu that swept through in the mid-50s. I had my three children vaccinated for everything for which vaccine was then available, and never regretted it. In some cases I realize that a vaccine will not prove effective, and in some it may prove harmful. I believe that overall, however, vaccines have been have generally been beneficial and have reduced risk.
Anyone who thinks vaccine save live should check out the CDC info. At the simpsonwood convention , which included 51 drs and people from the pharmaceutical industry, checked the results from the children who they were tracking, and they admitted that it causes neurological damage. There is soo much proof that vaccines are dangerous and causes most of our childrens problems. Check the way they make the safety studies, and start doing more research on vaccines . go to naturalnews.com and you will beshocked how naive we were to believe that vaccines save lives. They are never tested for their carcinogenic effect, which we know now it causes cancer. So pick your childs illness carefully. unfortunately we are trading the whooping cough for sids and neuroligical problems. The insert of the pertusiss vaccine states” SIDS has occured in infants following administration of whole cell pertussis DTP and DTaP. And during their trial there were 5 children that died. Very irrisponsible of them, but thats what big pharma is all about. Getting childhood illnesses will make the children stronger and then they can fight off many other illnessess. Want to vaccinate? Know the risks you are putting your child through , ehich can be speech delays, palsys and death. So far 4 children died from the gardisal vaccine in the past 3 months and there are over 10,000 adverse reactions reported.
The vaccines may create antibodies but that doesnt mean that you are protected. Actually , the places that have the largest outbreak of these illnessess are in fully vaccinated population. Maybe thats why children are getting it. This info comes from the CDC , so if you think I am wrong , check it out yourself..
People who dont vaccinate , actually have healthier kids, since we dont put all these cancer causing toxins into our kids.
If you dont have a problem with your kids, or even if you do, you never want to believe that you harmed your child. So I am letting you know now to check the side effects of vaccines before you vaccinate.
To Chaya,
, the science proves that vaccines cause damage. I was just as ignorant until I did my research for the passed 6 years. They want you to believe their lies so you will continue to vaccinate.
Why cant anyone sue the vaccine industry? Because they will go bankrupt. So keep on believing these lies, and keep your kids away from mine since the virus sheds for days after they are vaccinated..
Who says the 2 babies were not vaccinated? If they are in Dr shaniks care I am sure they were. vaccination does not equal immunization.
@Say it as it is: If your children are vaccinated, why are you concerned?
To #49
Vaccines are sterile ,FDA approved. Really? Dr Hillman, the maker of the mmr vaccine said that every vaccine is contaminated with many viruses. Like SV40, which causes cancer and many other toxins. FDA approved means that the pharmaceutical company pushed it through and scewed the data to prove its safety.
#62
“All the mothers that don’t give their children the proper vaccinations have a right not too,”
I disagree , parents have an obligation to protect their children in every respect and that includes health issues by vacinating against diseases that are preventable, not doing so puts not only your child at risk but others that come in contact with them
read #59 and quit forcing parents to give their children dangerous medicines!
There is a lot of quack medicine going on in this column! A couple of points: 1. People have quoted organizations as publishing data suggesting vaccines may be harmful. As someone familiar with scholarly healthcare journals, realize that there are bona fide scholarly articles that investigate and raise concern over LOTS of accepted medical practice. Much medical practice is questioned, debated, and STUDIED. That’s how doctors and other healthcare professionals come out with “best practice”. So yeah, there are going to be scholarly articles questioning the safety of vaccines – but we gotta look at the percentage. If 95% of such studies show that there are benefits, and 5% claim harm via vaccine – then I would go with the 95%! There are no scholarly articles on quack medicine ie herbal remedies and non-vaccination for healthy children, because the people who advocate ‘natural medicine’ over western medicine DONT DO STUDIES! 2. To those quoting cases of SIDS following DPT, etc, etc – EVERYONE knows that vaccine can have negative effects. LOTS of life-saving medical/ healthcare treatment can. We do it because it prevents far more harm than it causes. Since I’ve begun working in healthcare, I get the flu shot every year – even years when it is linked to high numbers of GBS (Guillian Barre Syndrome, a neurological illness) cases. I would now most likely continue to get it even if not working in healthcare. Because, statistically speaking, it decreases the risk of myself and those around me becoming seriously ill far more than it increases it. 3. All right, so you don’t trust doctors – Do what some people are suggesting, and ASK YOUR RAV! If you call your rav, and tell him the whole truth, and he tells you what to do, go by what he says. But I’d be really surprised if he says don’t vaccinate your healthy kids!
Too busy to read all the comments but babies def start getting their shots as early as 2 months then again at 4 and my baby will be getting her 3rd in a month! ……
Both sides – whether you are pro or against vaccines stems from caring for our children. With this in mind, we would do well to remember that the greatest protection that we have from sickness is to act b’shalom.
Unfortunately, many of the comments can promote strife between us. Even when we feel that we are right, or when we want to give mussar, there are halachos on how to do this. So let us protect all our children by remembering what hashem wants from us, doing our research and trying our best.
instead of us all getting sidetracked with details we should all continue to daven that the two babies should have a complete refuah.
I think that babies as young as six weeks should be at home with their mothers until they are at least two months old and can get some of the vaccines. Perhaps schools and other places of employment can extend the maternity leave to eight weeks. Truthfully, I think all babies should be at home till nursery school, and raised by their own mothers, but that is an entirely different discussion.(That is how it used to be for many generations, and somehow bnei Torah and bnos Torah still resulted.) As for Vaccine Maven, there is a lot of truth in what she wrote. Nothing is black and white when it comes to vaccines. Some are safe, some may be harmful, some are vital, some can be delayed or not given at all. Do research using respectable sources of information.
The children could have easily caught it from an adult as well. Not only should children be vaccinated, but adults as well, especially those with young children!!! Get the facts people before you start judging.
I see all the kooks are coming out of the woodwork. Sorry to use such a strong term but I think it’s called for. The one study in England that seemed to link immunizations with autism was proved to be a fraud and was retracred by the Lancet. The torah wants us to follow the advice of expert doctors- not promogulate crazy theories about collusion between the drug companies and doctors that insult the intelligence of any Bar Daas. Yes there is a risk of death from a root canal or tonsil removal, but doctors advise that the benefit vastly outways the risk so we are mechuyav to listen al pi torah. Even if there were to be some increased risk of SIDS from a shot (probably not), the benefit has been determined to outweigh any risk by the medical proffesion. We give a choleh to eat on yom kippur based on a rofeh not based on conjecture or feelings about what’s best for a choleh. Enough said.
Let’s all listen to the experts, and we all should all stop thinking we know everything. This is a life and death matter.
#62m @ Chaya. With all due respect, I am going to hand back to you the brush so you can brush up on the research.
1. Flu shots certainly contain a valid concern about heavy metals particularly Mercury, which is put into Thimerosal which is part of the serum.
The Ocean County Board of Health issues flu shots with and without, but claim they have no clue which does not have thimerosal.
2. That was not the premise of my argument. That was “a” support about my statement that there is a valid concern about what is in the serum of vaccines.
3. There are MANY other concerns about a lot of vaccines, too much to get into here, but I guess you feel the pharmaceutical companies run with drugs that are as pure as the driven snow.
So, here we are after the fact. There is a problem.
The topic, for me, is not the vaccine, although that is a topic. The topic is a family doctor refusing to treat someone because they have not had shots.
Again, this creates a danger by sending the child to a doctor who does not know their history, among other things.
Again, do you refuse to treat your patient if they chose to decline on your suggestion to have their tonsils out and now they have an infection?
Again, do you refuse to treat a patient who waited longer than you recommended to have their appendix out, and now they are in bad pain and calling your office?
I can see withholding dessert from a child if you dont eat the meal, but..come on….
My son took his 7-month old to Jersey Shore (Neptune) this week. Between all the children who were sick and the shooting victims from Asbury (also gang members in the waiting room), he said that he couldn’t wait to get out of there. They couldn’t keep his daughter overnight (breathing problem and fever) because they had no beds left. I think that was a good thing. It’s a virus (bad); however, she’s doing much better.
read how the vaccine can be healed
http://vaccinationcouncil.org/media/The-Vitamin-C-Treatment-of-Whooping-Cough.pdf
I don’t know if anyone realizes but all the people that are pro vaccines are saying the same uneducated things over and over. And for those who say ask a rav assuming a rav would say to vaccinate, I’m sorry but the rav who I asked who is a VERY renowned rav said not to. I just find it funny that people know nothing and are so quick to bash people who can answer them on anything they say.
Rashi says by the meraglim ,if the seller backs his product by solid warranty & offers you to test it prior to sale you feel confidant buying it as is
Why are vaccines the only product that threatened congress unless they are granted full immunity that they cant be sued they will stop production
What are they so afraid of
Search online for the article from Boston University entitled: Resurgence of Whooping Cough May Owe to Vaccine’s Inability to Prevent Infections