EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Dr. Rich Roberts takes on the Anti-Vaxxers

Following his recent announcement about not allowing the non-immunized to his Chol Ha’moed event, TLS sat down with Dr. Roberts to talk about the anti-vaxxer group.

Watch the exclusive video below:

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129 COMMENTS

  1. In the words of a fairly famous talk show host “liberalism is a mental disorder “ there doesn’t have to be a discussion anymore. you’re not going to change their sickness

    • Just to point out, the talk show host you quote, Michael Savage is against vaccines… You can hear him poke fun at Obama for pushing vaccines

  2. How can I provide pertinent information to Dr Robert to assist him in this mitzvah campaign?

    Namely that Dr (moderated) condones anti vaxing? (Un officially)

  3. Get your children vaccinated, and get yourselves vaccinated if needed. The vaccines do more good than harm. I have gotten vaccinations since I was a child, and have gotten a few tetanus shots over the years as needed when injured by dog bites from a neighbor’s dog,and other injuries. Do not take chances when it comes to protecting your children’s health, your health, and the health of others.

    • African Cichlids…brackish (African lake) water that is a little salty but not nearly as salty as salt water… pH about 8. These are aggressive fish so tanks should be overpopulated so that no single fish can stake out a territory over which fish will fight. When one fish tries to stake out a territory there are many other fish that swim into it from many directions thereby eliminating the establishment of territoriality.

      • Dr. Roberts, I first want to thank thank you for for standing up for what’s right. I believe that you are the only one from our wonderful community who has the courage or for lack of a better word “guts” to do something like this. I applaud you and thank you from the bottom of my heart.

        About the fish thing… I believe your tank is way way over populated. True African Cichlids are very aggressive and territorial , but the better alternative to overpopulating is to have caves or rocks where each fish can “claim” their territory. A good option is Texas Holey Rock as it helps with the PH level as well. For those looking for cheaper alternatives you can cut pvc pipes for the fish to “hide” in.

        I’m not an expert, but did discuss this with many fish enthusiasts.

        I’ve owned African Cichlids for many years without having one death.

        So many fish in the background was making me dizzy and made it difficult to focus on the message 🙂

        • Just to add… The male to female ratio also helps with aggression. 3 to 5 females to each male is the right amount.

          Having so many fish per gallon in one tank requires a ton of maintenance. I don’t think the average person would have the time required to care for it properly. Not to mention, the fish don’t have the appropriate space that should be allocated for them.

  4. Dr Robert’s, you could not have said it better.
    I would just like to relate 1 story that happened with my child.
    About 8 years ago my son was 6 month’s old and we had a little medical scare with him.
    We was advised to go to the top pediatrician in N Y U medical center in NY.
    The Dr. was about 80 years old, but he was still practicing, and considered the best.
    When we walk in to his room, the first question he asked me and my wife was, is our son getting his vaccine shots, we said yes, we asked him why was that his first question, he responded, you can’t imagine how much death and destruction I saw years ago when there were no vaccines.
    B”H everything turned out ok with our son.

    • I’m glad that everything is fine with your son and I appreciate your relating your encounter which demonstrates a point that I was making. People often don’t know something that they did not live through. Thank you.

  5. If someone has a known allergy to penicillin, there is no doctor that would recommend penicillin, even if the person has pneumonia. They would figure out another abx that can fight their pneumonia.

    If someone has had severe reactions (including anaphylaxis) to vaccines, why is it any different? Why are they still being advised to continue vaccinating?

    What are the statistical chances that an individual in 2018 will contract Polio? For someone who has previously reacted to vaccines on multiple occasions, the chances of them suffering long-term negative side effects are far more likely.

    • Watch the video you will get your answer…
      Don’t be so ignorant. Obviously if someone has anaphylactic reactions to vaccines its not appropriate for them. If the rest of the community was doing their share and getting their immunizations that one individual would be included in herd immunity. Since people are NOT doing their share that person is now at risk for getting it due to their personal allergy. What an achrayus that is on the rest of the community!

      • But the vaccination rate is more than 90% which is what you need for herd immunity. “People are NOT doing their share”? Only a very small percentage of the population are not vaccinating.

    • If someone had an anaphylactic reaction to a vaccine then they would not be given that vaccine again. If people have had major allergic reactions to components of certain vaccines, such as eggs, then they are not given that vaccine. Your premise is wrong.

      In Israel, a few years ago, polio was detected in spring water. It still exists in the world and with modern travel these infectious agents travel too (Do you remember the Ebola panic a few years ago for which no vaccine exists?) . Stories don’t prove anything but, as an anecdote, I want you to know that I was told today about a frum child in Lakewood who died within the last year of Pertussis (Whooping Cough). The parents were loudly accusing each other of responsibility for not vaccinating their (now deceased) child.

      • To Dr. Roberts,

        No, you’re wrong. My daughter had anaphylaxis to vaccines on more than one occasion and her (popular) pediatrician advised to continue vaccinating. Needless to say, we left that medical practice, sought counsel from immunologists out of state (NY and MD), and were advised to never give certain vaccines and wait until she’s older to give the others.

        • Do you know the difference between an allergic reaction and anaphylaxis? Did your child have a true anaphylactic reaction requiring emergent medical attention?

      • I’m sincerely curious of the statistical likelihood of a child in NJ contracting Polio. There are no diseases that are fully eradicated from the world. People travel and carry diseases. I’m well aware of that.

        • Actually, do you know anyone with small pox? It was eradicated in the 70’s due to vaccines. It is estimated it killed 300 to 500 Million people in the 20th century alone.

    • Your statement is false and actually agrees with Dr. Robert’s point. Vaccinating is a risk management decision. If another antibiotic could be used then using penicillin would not be an appropriate risk to place the patient in.

      An anaphylactic reaction can be managed with various medications, especially if given prior to the allergen. If a person’s life was in the balance and the only medication that could be used was something that the patient was allergic to, the medication would be used.

      How many antivaxxers have had a child with a severe reaction to vaccines? Knowing someone who has had an adverse reaction doesn’t mean you will have the same reaction. If I know someone who is allergic to peanuts, should I too refrain from eating peanuts?

      Don’t mention autism as a reaction of vaccination, as this means you haven’t done any real research.

      There was an outbreak of polio in Eretz Yisroel in 2014. There was an outbreak of measles in 2014. There have been several mumps outbreaks since 2006.

      And to your last statement, that the chances of suffering negative long-term effects is more likely, do you have any verifiable data to back up such an inflammatory comment?

      Please don’t give medical advice if you are not a knowledgeable healthcare provider.

      • To fact checker

        I did not mention autism, I’m not sure why you chose to bring that up here.

        To answer your last question, it happened to my child.

        • The immunologists didn’t recommend that you not vaccinate your children. They recommended an alternate schedule. Which vaccine did your child react to? Do they have any other allergies?

          You also didn’t address my last point, has your child had a long-term negative effect from the vaccine?

          You make what appear to be factual statements but your knowledge is purely anecdotal. You are attempting to come across as an educated anti-vaxxer but you misrepresent your facts by making false and unsubstantiated statements. This is not a responsible attitude to take with regards to the health of other people.

  6. As a frum health provider in our community I often get questioned on vaccines. Looking forward to be able to back up what I already know and preach with your campaign. Thank you Dr.Roberts I feel like this is a HUGE chessed you are doing for our community and hope you will be very matzlaich with it. Kudos to you for using your talents and knowledge to help educate the frum community. It is greatly appreciate.

  7. I mentioned the same observation as Dr. Roberts, that there is no name on the website to one of these “anti-vaccine” loonys and he claimed that since they are such a minority, they will get “in trouble” for putting their name on this… That’s their excuse.

  8. Ashreicha Dr Roberts! May all of Klal Yisroel be healthy and remember to do their hishtadlus to keep themselves and others healthy and get vaccinated.

  9. Dr. Roberts should make a separate carnival for the non vaccinated. This would solve the terrible crisis at hand. At the (NVC) Non Vaccinated Carnival the children should go play and Dr. Roberts can give a shiur on vaccinations for the parents.

  10. @Anonymous: Of course he isn’t talking about someone who is known to be allergic to penicillin. He talking about the rest of the population. In regards to some contacting polio on 2018, there is no question that it can happen. If there is enough of the population that doesn’t vaccinate then there is a very real chance that the disease will make a comeback. This had happened a number of times in recent history.

  11. Loved the video.
    You may want to add that vaccination is not 100% proof. It is only 95% proof and the way it works is that once enough people are vaccinated they in essence create a human shield and a barrier against the disease spreading. When you have a group that does not vaccinate they are using us as their human shields but are not doing their part in protecting the community in addition to putting the 5% at risk.
    Let all the unvacinaters move to one neighborhood and go to one school and le uts see how brave they are. The reason they are willing to risk not being vaccinated is only a result of them relying on us who vaccinate and they use us as their human shields. This is extremely selfish and completely inconsiderate on their part. As a community and as a group we all must vaccinate. A small group looking to us as their human shields while they are not doing their part is equivalent to placing a friend in front of a shooting terrorist to protect himself from being shot.

  12. Dr Roberts, thank you for everything you do specifically with tackling this emotional topic it is evident that you are doing this only because you really care thank you again.
    I believe that like everything there are two sides this does not mean both are correct however to start everybody wants to do whats best for their kids and are making a decision based on what they think is best for there child. Now for the most part the people that do Not immunize there children it’s bec they Someone who had a bad experience were they were told and read up about horror stories which scared them off. You’re for it to just tell them the doctor says it is best for them won’t convince them to do something to there children when they have lots of questions and to just tell them the doctor says it is best for them won’t convince them to do something to there children when they have lots of questions and they generally are deep thinking intelligent people with good question that need good answers. For example I’ve heard why do we have to start at two weeks old? Do we have to give for some many different illnesses some of that cannot be passed on like hepatitis be at what it may screaming at them they’re crazy will not change anything

  13. I vaccinate my children, even though on two different occasions a child was hospitalized because of reactions to the vaccine. I asked the Dr. If he is reporting the case to the CDC or proper organization. On both occasions he said no, it’s coincidental. This made me think, “Are the statistics real? Or just under reported”.

    • this is exactly why epidemiological studies, post market studies are worth nothing for vaccines. it is the only drug that when you report a side effect to your doctor they say “not related to the shot” side effects are very common, not a rare occurrence at all.
      this is why ex vaxxers have stopped vaccinating because there is a cover up.

  14. Dr. Roberts:
    question – if most kids ARE vaccinated, and a kid that is not vaccinated and was exposed to an illness is wandering around at the carnival, wouldn’t their vaccines protect them?
    question: Since you are embarking on this campaign, it indicates that there is a significant amount of anti vaxxers in the community- I doubt you would do this for one loony tune. out of curiousity, what is the number? like 5 families, or more like 10?

    • Didn’t you hear him say there are people who can’t get vaccinated due to allergies or some medical conditions? There are some elderly people whose immune systems are low even if they’ve been vaccinated. Would you want your child to pass an illness to your neighbors bubby?

  15. The reason why the chances of someone contracting polio in 2018 is so low is Because of vaccination. So many diseases are unheard of these days because of immunizations which don’t allow people to Catch them and distribute. Doctor, do you concur?

  16. As an ABA therapist, who is seeing an increase in children suffering from Autism, although it’s not scientifically provent yet, I can’t help but wonder if for a small percentage of the population , that vaccines may cause autism. On a side note, as a seller of vaccines and pharma , how would you respond to those that say that you have a bias?

  17. Dr. Robertz I see you are very courageous, so maybe you can make some rules about tznius clothing? I know you’re a dr. And vaccinations might talk to you more, but it would very nice that it should be a tzniusdige event. Assuming that most of the crowd are bnai torah, but theirs that 5 percent…..

  18. Dr Roberts,
    I have always admired you for everything you do for the klal purely for chesed.
    I ask you to please do your own research on immunizations before you start the campaign. You of all people know how corrupt the pharmaceutical industry is.
    Do real research in medical journals cdc etc. read the actual studies. Take a look at VAERS. Take a look at vaccine court. Look at the whole picture.
    Thank you again for all you do!!

  19. just to answer a few of your questions that u asked on the video
    You spoke about the picture in the pamphlet that showed fraud. You spoke about the fact that there is nor return address on it and no publisher etc which screams fraud.
    Truth is that it is VERY politically incorrect to question vaccines. And anyone who puts their name out there is taking a big risk
    Let me tell you something, i know a lot of people who don’t vaccinate. They don’t talk about it. No one knows. Why cuz they are scared they will be ostracized.
    Each person who doesnt vaccinate is an ex- vaxxer NOT an an antivaxxer!!
    When ones child has a bad reaction to vaccination and the dr says “its not related, just a coincidence” and the mother clearly knows that the shot did something to her child, she loses trust in the doctor, and starts questioning this paradigm.
    It is not rebellion, it is not fraud. These are real parents with real kids who are really damaged!
    It is very nice to compare penicillin to vaccines, but you cant really compare them. Vaccines are to prevent illness not to cure illness so the risk taking is not equal.
    I will not argue with the fact that vaccines have prevented and maybe eradicated illness but i will argue that it is possible that the risk outweighs the benefit at this time. We have a whole new set of illnesses that are chronic and debilitating. Whether or not they were caused by vaccination is debatable but it is definitely a possibility that has to be looked at
    Why is it that it is an undebatable fact that vaccines don’t cause autism??
    Maybe just maybe they do. Of course the pharmaceutical companies will do anything they can to make sure the studies show no link because as soon as the do show a link the tower will fall and that will be the end of vaccines as we know them.
    There was just recently a whistleblower in the cdc dr bill thompson. Look at what he wrote and said.
    It seems to me that there is a huge cover up going on with this
    Dr paul offit recently did a conference call about vaccines which was really nice but he didnt answer the questions that i submitted. Does that mean he didnt have an answer?
    Dont want to bore anyone so i will stop here
    Be well

  20. Rabbi Akiva Tatz, says on one of his shuirim, that he personally asked R’ Elyashiv זצ״ל advice on dealing with a family that didn’t want to vaccinate, and R’ Elyashiv answered that it’s a חיוב to do so, and the community should use whatever they could to enforce that every family does so. I wonder under what mental illness of the DSM-5 anti-vacciner quality with a diagnosis.

  21. When one of the non vaxxers is on chemo and has a child come down with the mumps because of this total disregard for authority (as happened to me a few yrs ago), we’ll see if theymaintain their stance; the health dept confirmed over and over that the only reason the mumps (parotiditis) resurfaced is because of the faction that doesn’t vaccinate; families who weren’t vaccinated had many members affected, which in turn caused exponential contagion, that “liberty” that they take could have been fatal to me and others like me; let’s think like fellow yidden and human beings

  22. The very sad fact that needs to be very sensitivity addressed, is that the majority of the anti vaxxers have been directly affected by a special child.

    The vaccine blame is their if dealing with this.. there is no real logical explanation. But if the good Dr can somehow help these parents cope emotionally without turning to junk science…. We will put this scourge behind us.

    • why do you say junk science?? they are md’s and phd’s just like the pro vax doctors
      anyone who questions vaccines is automatically put in the quack, anti, junk category
      do any of you know what is actually in a vaccine??
      did any of you read the insert?
      it is plainly there right in front of your nose!!
      facts guys!

  23. Finally someone that has the ability to do something takes a stance. Thank you. In years past people with a psychiatric illness were given drugs to curb the symptoms. The drugs were on a ‘test’ basis, where the patient was given the medication and told to wait and see and report back. Today there are products used to test the genome of the patient and receive information as to what drug would be tolerated best. I believe its cheek swab. This saves people from potential harm, adverse reaction and delaying proper care. Dr. Roberts; a product like this is necessary for children to get information about their methylation abilities, about their tolerance to potential allergens and about their ‘possibility of being that 1/50,000 that has the adverse reaction to penicillin’. This would allow the risk/reward ratio to be less of a mystery to parents. I vaccinated all my children. I have no regrets, I’m not anti vaccine. I just wish there would be movement based on this movement. As anonymous as it is, there is a risk and its not given enough credence and or the medical attention that any other injectable is (this is in itself enough to raise suspicion) Hello new patent opportunity.

  24. My children are all vaccinated. Thank g-d never had a bad reaction but I’m sure vaccines do affect some children and it can’t be a coincidence when you read all the anti vaccine ppl describe.
    If something would have happened to one of my children a few hours after getting his shots I’m not sure that i would dismiss it so fast as not related to the shots. And i would definitely consider not vaccinating my other children.

    • How about following the majority of the doctors?
      (Would you ask for the Daas Torah of how to fix
      a machine if there were disagreeing engineers?)
      I’ll tell you what – ask a rav whom you believe to
      have Daas Torah and report what he said here.

  25. just a point here. There is one person in town who is pushing this agenda. I personally don’t buy the consperiacy theories that are floating around about vaccines. However, I fail to see the danger of a vaccinated person being around a non vaccinated person. That’s the whole reason you are vaccinated in the first place. Also, just because someone is not vaccinated, does it mean they have a disease?

    • it is not a conspiracy theory at all.
      can everyone here please read the insert that comes with the vaccine before making any more comments???
      just one insert from one vaccine please.
      it is called brainwashing
      everyone is brainwashed
      vaccines are safe and effective
      repeat
      vaccines are safe and effective
      vaccines are safe and effective
      let me ask you something
      do you think it is fun to be the one that doesn’t vaccinate among family and friends that think you are nuts??
      do you think it is fun to try to find a babysitter for your baby that will take a non vaccinated baby and go from babysitter to babysitter and risk losing your job cuz you can’t find one?
      isn’t it easier to JUST VACCINATE and be done with it?
      of course it is
      but for me and my family it is not the right thing (which i clearly know – it is not a question in mind, should i, shouldn’t i) so i have to keep going against the tide and ask Hashem to help me along the way. – Which HE always does B”h!!

  26. My daughter had a full blown anaphylactic attack to the first mmr shot in the doctors office despite the fact that she is not allergic to any form of eggs (only dairy). Regardless the dr told us to wait with the second vaccine. After two years I was uncomfortable waiting any longer and wanted her vaccinated. I gave her a double dose of Benadryl before the shot to preempt the reaction and then gave her the vaccine without an incident BH . Maybe she outgrew that (she never outgrew her anaphylaxis to dairy) and or the Benadryl did its work before the allergy can start either way she is BH vaccinated and I can breathe easier. I’m not a dr and not giving others advice just telling you what I did and suggesting to find ways to ensure your child is vaccinated.

  27. Just to add we also stayed for over an hour in the doctors office so she can be monitored for the slightest hint of reaction which she BH didn’t get.

    • Just wondering. does your child have any allergies, asthma, or other chronic health condition? adhd, spectrum disorder or other brain related dysfunction?
      check the vaccine insert and see if your child developed any lasting effects from the reaction at the dr’s office.
      a reaction to a vaccine means something happened to the childs body and there could be lasting effects. (i hope your child was lucky and has none)

  28. There is government assistance to help people that feel their child was hurt from vaccines – This option can help you with assistance if a child suffers from a reaction, and give you accurate information about how to protect your family’s sensitivity. Although the autism rise has been proven not to be attributable to vaccination, there is a lot of intelligent awareness of the fact that numbers can be manipulated and surveys and trials have been proven to be controlled and directed.towards the ends that they want to prove ( I say this from both sides – vax or antivaxx ). Most critical disagreements get passionate in presenting their arguments and will resort to swaying the numbers to prove their bias. The anti vaxxers do not listen to reason – reason being that we cannot go back to a society where polio, mumps, measles etc are rampant, and their refusal to vaccinate and try to influence others is done with a lot of false data. This does not mean that you should not try to avoid giving 80 vaccines in one day, and try to build up your child’s ability to handle mercury and whatever approaches you can take to neutralize the dangers you worry about – each person can choose not to use aluminum 9 x 13 in their personal life- they just don’t have the right to put society at risk. I laud Dr Roberts for taking this stand, being that he is in a position to do so – i wonder if it couldn’t have been done with a little more respect to the people whose position has been brought on by seeing suffering in their own families and communities, although he might have more experience in knowing that this group is very hard to subdue.
    May everybody stay healthy and may the curse of autism and like diseases be cured. The families of these children suffer incomprehensibly and deserve all the support they can get – we are not doing enough to help them. They just don’t have the right to put society at risk.

    • there is no proof at all that they are putting the society at risk.
      the fact that the same govt that mandated vaccines allows for religious exemption should be enough for everyone here. if it was really so dangerous they would not allow religious exemptions.
      no reason the lakewood community has to be more machmir than the govt re vaccination

      • It’s quite laughable that an antivaxxer like MOM who has been spewing nothing but nonsense in many comments here starts this comment with “there’s no proof at all…”

        There is no proof at all for anything the anti vaxxers claim. Period.

  29. Are they intentionally using us as their human shield, or are they simply not using their brains? I get the impression that most anti-vaxxers know nothing about research and data and medicine and microbiology. Their heads are in the sand, as evidenced by the fact that they still happily use debunked data.

  30. Thank you Dr Roberts for standing up to these anonymous, uninformed, misguided people!! Wishing you much hatzlacha in everything you do!!
    Thanks for the great carnival too!!
    Wish we can see the WHOLE fish tank:-)

  31. Thank you Dr. Roberts!!!!
    The problem is- will the anti-vaxxers actually watch the video? They will probably completely disregard it as they don’t want to actually hear the truth.

    • (most of my kids are fully vaccinated)
      i watched the whole video and didn’t really hear any actual facts. just attacking the anti vaxxers and saying that they are fraud because they don’t sign their name to the pamphlets.

  32. “I wonder if it could have been done with a little more respect to the people whose position had been been brought on by seeing suffering in their own families and communities…”
    A quote from the above commenter @Government Assistance, ( which btw managed to miraculously squeeze their way in past the tls moderator by lumping it in with alot of other complimentary statements)

  33. Yasher koach Dr. Roberts. I was in a out of town Kollel when 1 of the yungerleit didn’t vaccinate his children on principle. Then his wife gave birth bug couldn’t come home since his kids caught the whooping cough.
    As to the moshol of penicillin, 1 of my children just had a terrible reaction to amoxicillin last week as we learned that he’s allergic. This would never stop me from giving my children the medicine prescribed by knowledgeable Doctors. I’ll sign my name, let’s see some anti’s sign theirs.
    Mordechai Ross

    • If your child is allergic to penicillin with just a rash then in the unforeseeable case where penicillin is somehow the only drug to use then the child can be premedicated with an antihistamine. But since there are so many other antibiotics that can be used, I would be surprised if any such situation ever occurred or if a physician would ever prescribe another drug in the penicillin class or another drug with allergic cross reactivity to penicillin (the cephalosporins).

  34. @Mordechai. You can sighn your name because your position does not put you in midst of crossfire thats frankly unsafe. That’s where those who are in the anti-camp will find themselves. As you see the antis where told not to attend a public (chesed) event. That’s quite heavy Mordechai. I wouldn’t want to put my name down if I where the automatic underdog, given this week’s winds. It doesn’t mean they don’t have a voice. Just not today, or here..

      • Chaim,
        The whole issue isn’t about being socially unsafe by being ridiculed but being unsafe by not vaccinating thereby endangering your family and many others in the community who cannot vaccinate or whose immune systems don’t function sufficiently due to illness or required medical therapy for an illness.
        Best wishes,
        Rich Roberts

  35. I vaccinate but i was once in a situation where someone was brainwashing me not to vaccinate. bH i still do vaccinate but one question that hasn’t been resolved with me is the idea that there is a lot of lobbying by the pharmeceutical companies and that doctors get royalties based on how many vaccines are given. You are in the industry and you are a true eved Hashem and I don’t believe you would promote something bad. But what about the rest of the industry.

    Can you answer this in a real way that people with logic can understand? Please don’t just say it’s ridiculous becaus they make enough money already or something like that.

    Thank you so much for all you do for the community. My son learns for hours on end “only at Roberts” during bain hazmanin and for this too I wish to thank you! What a zechus!!

    • The conspiracy theories against vaccination are just fictitious nonsense.

      First, I have no agenda here except to help the community. I retired five years ago from the pharmaceutical industry and I have no financial incentive for either side of the vaccination issue.

      Regarding doctors, no one can maintain a business or professional practice by not making any money. Doctors are paid minimal amounts of professional fees for giving vaccinations. Typically nurses or nurse practitioners administer vaccinations now and people can get flu vaccinations at many drug stores. Kickbacks, royalties, or any other incentives for doctors to give a particular brand of vaccine, or any other drug, are highly illegal and incredibly highly scruitinized by the federal government. No such practices have existed for a couple of decades and even hints of such practices have drawn the threat of criminal prosecution by the federal government and resulted in very high fines. Pharmaceutical companies work in fear that a salesperson, whose job is to educate a doctor about a drug, might quietly buy something for a doctor which results in the federal government pouncing upon the company and extracting (or extorting) billion dollar fines through the threat of criminally prosecuting the executives. Pharmaceutical companies have compliance groups and training of salespeople to try to prevent a rogue salesperson from doing such a thing.

      Insurance companies only care about making money. The Atlantic in 2015 cited a study showing that every dollar spent on vaccines saves ten dollars in medical costs. Medical insurance companies support vaccinations since vaccinating results in far fewer cases of illness thereby increasing medical insurance profits. This is a properly aligned incentive (a good thing).

      Regarding pharmaceutical company profits, there were 26 vaccine manufacturers in 1967 which dropped to 17 by 1980. The profitability in older vaccines is minimal and they are very difficult to make since injectibiles require sterile facilities that often need to be shut down, sterilized, validated, then brought back online. There are some companies who are working on new vaccines for a variety of illnesses. If vaccines can be created to prevent Alzheimer’s disease then I believe that this would be a great thing. If there is no profit in it then who is going to risk billions of dollars trying to develop such a vaccine to save so many people – the anti-vaxxers? I think not.

      It’s difficult to try to keep up with every crazy reason that people fabricate to not vaccinate. The same holds for other conspiracy theories. The U.S. didn’t really land on the moon, the Jews were behind 911, outer space aliens run the government… People can keep making up stories faster than fact based people can try to debunk them. Since the year 2000, 500 million vaccinations have been given in third world countries thereby preventing 7 million deaths. When poor uneducated countries who are devastated by infectious diseases get some money and education, they vaccinate and save lives. But now some pockets of people in the U.S. have been so spoiled that they have not seen the widespread terror, suffering, and death from these infectious diseases so they feel free to not vaccinate until there is an outbreak and they get to experience “the good old days”. There are reported deaths in Lakewood of frum children from a variety of these diseases which would not have been transmitted if everyone who could vaccinate would do so. Bring back the good old days!!!

  36. Mordechai Ross, look what happens to someone who publicizes that he is an ex-vaxxer. Gets egged from all sides. Ostracized. It’s not safe.
    If your kid has an allergic reaction to a vaccine, and you give it again, you’re just nuts. “it almost killed him the first time. Maybe this time it won’t.” Just nuts.

  37. “Why don’t people vaccinate? Because they don’t remember. We as Jews are all about remembering”. Oh, like I’m supposed to remember how the flu killed 50,000 people a year until the flu vaccine came around and saved us! If they are pulling this out right under us, how can we trust their “stats” from 60-70 years ago?

  38. @ChaimLevi, you put it down the way it is. Thank you for so eloquently explaining that this conversation isn’t fair game, at least for one side of interest.

  39. I put my name down even though for many commenters my position is unpopular. I live in NY so I don’t benefit from Dr. Robert’s chesed which is what it is. For anyone to suggest otherwise, you’re proving a point about anti’s. I believe many are misinformed, many mean well some are just cynical. Trying to cast De. Robert’s as anything but a bal chesed is cynicism at it’s worst.

  40. The Anti vaccinators are so selfish and completely ignorant and misinformed. My friend’s 8 yr old son is in remission from leukemia and is immune suppressed. His younger brother(who is vaccinated) caught chicken pox from an unvaccinated child in his class in a local yeshiva ( because the chicken pox vaccine is not 100 percent effective))
    The 8 yr old caught it from his brother and was hospitalized for 2 weeks to be monitored. BH it didn’t spread to his major organs or become fatal, as it could have been.
    Anti vaccinators, I ask you, do you care that you are endagering others lives?
    I’ve also noticed that anti vaccinators never ask daas Torah, and they also never back down or listen to any voice of reason on the topic.

    • My son also had leukemia and let me set you straight on a couple of things:
      1. Children who are immune repressed can catch a lot of things that are dangerous for them, not just chicken pox. They can catch all kinds of viruses and infections. My son became very sick with a staph infection. It’s important for children to get chicken pox naturally because that will give them lifelong immunity. Now, after most take the chicken pox vaccine, we are seeing much more shingles (which is the same virus as chicken pox) in older children, adults and the elderly and it is much more serious than chicken pox.
      2. There are known carcinogens in some of the vaccines. Perhaps that is why some children get leukemia in the fist place?? There have not been enough safety studies done and that is what concerned people are asking for.

      • 3. And don’t forget the kids who are shedding the diseases for six weeks after being vaccinated. That’s also very dangerous for kids with leukemia and we don’t know who’s recently had their vaccines.

  41. I personally am not in favor of most vaccinations but, Dr. Roberts is entitled to his opinions. Also since he is the one funding his carnival he has the right to his opinions regarding who can and cannot attend.

  42. Bringing proof “that I know somebody” is ridiculous. It’s like saying “I know somebody who smoked and didn’t get lung cancer”. I am now an advocate for smoking. We go by the statistics as a whole.

  43. I know of a baby who almost died from whooping cough a few years ago. BH she survived but was a very close call. This was bec she was exposed to a non vaccinated person before her correct age of receiving the vaccine.

    • i’m just curious how you know that the baby caught pertussis from an unvaccinated person? did a bas kol come down and say so?

      if you look at the NIH website that is the National Institute for Health a sister org to the CDC you can find results from a study that the FDA did showing that people who recieve the pertussis vaccine will not get it but will be carriers and can cause someone else to get it for up to 6 weeks. the medical community has acknowledged that the pertussis vaccine is not perfect but say “it is the best we have for now”. I’m not going to post a link because all of the pro-vaxxers are so proficient at research i’m sure they can find this study on their own. it was done around 2013 or 2014.

  44. As someone who suffers with suppressed immunity, I deeply appreciate the effort restricting the carnival to those who have been immunized because they are the only protection people like me have.

    • Why aren’t you worried about recently vaccinated children who may still be shedding the actual diseases they were vaccinated against?

      There is just absolutely no evidence that an un-vaccinated person can make you sick.

  45. Much of the discussion of whether or not anti-vaxxers should attend the carnival is irrelevant to the issue at hand: Dr. Roberts is throwing a party, and he is choosing whom to invite: Neighbors who celebrate the Yomtov of Pesach and who immunize their children. If you do not immunize, and you are medically allowed to do so by the majority of the medical establishment, you are not invited to the party. Period. Even if you deem it unfair, it’s his prerogative to invite whomsoever he chooses to a privately-funded party. Attending would be gatecrashing, which — regardless of whether it is geneivah, is unquestionably rude and crass.

    If Dr. Roberts throws a Purim party and says that only girls named Esther and boys named Mordechai are invited, and I then bring my daughter Gitty, we would be gatecrashing whether or not anyone at the door asks for her credentials. and regardless of whether I deem it fair or sensible. Therefore, I would refrain from bringing her (unless I wish to teach her to be a moocher) and would graciously go where we are invited or I would pay for our own entertainment. And, although Dr. Roberts is making a point by honoring only Esthers and Mordechais with invitations, it is inappropriate for me to attack him and get defensive about my choice of the name Gitty. He is choosing his friends, and it would be a total lack of mentchlichkeit for Gitty and me to attend and very unrefined to gripe about it.

  46. Dr. Roberts, you mentioned a group of Hispanic anti vaxxers in Florida who had an outbreak of german measles in their community and as a result 18 children died. Would you please direct me to where I can find more information on this story? A few google searches turned up nothing, and being that it happened just this year I would’ve thought it would have had more media coverage. Thank you so much.

  47. Machlokes KILLS.

    everyone take the advice of your Rav, Dr or therapist & stop fighting.

    If you do your hishtadlus – you are good – no need to convince or coerce others. I mean it for both sides!

  48. Not one post has gotten to the nitty gritty on the problem, as I see it. Much like foods made with GMO’s and much like irradiated foods, where the possible effects may be apparent asap, years down the road, or not at all; vaccines are made in a less than ideal way. And the statement, “The benefits outweigh the risks”, is not a high enough standard for any child.

    Please address these uncovered points, Dr. Roberts: Vaccines include toxins like mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, antibiotics, MSG..etc. Who would ever put a dropper of any quantity of these things in their baby? But mixed in a concoction they are fine?

    I can only imagine the reaction of all these chemicals put into a baby’s pure system for the first time. And the number of vaccines, each containing these chemicals again, must compound the problem.

    Why cannot the main ingredient responsible for creating the antibody be placed in a natural and organic formula?

    I am very sincere about this viewpoint, and equally interested in an insightful response from a professional like Dr. Roberts. Others with a pertinent response would be of great interest, too. Thank you.

  49. Does anyone have actual proof that vaccines are safe? All I am hearing is reassurances but no proof. And I’m hearing too many stories of vaccine reactions, but no studies that prove safety of, say, aluminum which is in just about all vaccines

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