Ultra-Orthodox Rabbinic Leadership: 12-year-olds Must Get Vaccinated
June 29, 2021
(JP) Two of the most senior rabbis in the ultra-Orthodox world, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky and Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, have called for all children 12-years-old and over to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The two rabbis announced their support for the step in a letter published in the Yated Neeman ultra-Orthodox daily newspaper on Tuesday by prominent Bnei Brak physician Dr. Meshulam Hart.
Hart, who is Kanievsky’s personal doctor, noted the recent rise in COVID-19 infections particularly among unvaccinated children and youths, a phenomenon which has arisen after the entry of the Delta variant into the country, and said that this is a life-endangering and threatened once again to shut down educational institutions.
“We brought all the medical opinions to Rabbi Kanievsky and Rabbi Edelstein,” wrote Hart. "Since there is a danger and concern for loss of life, including among the elderly, and there is also a real threat of Torah study being canceled and educational institutions and yeshivas being closed, all pupils, boys and girls, 12 years old and over who do not know for sure that they were [previously] infected with corona should get vaccinated in accordance with the instructions of doctors."
Story by Jeremy Sharon for The Jerusalem Post
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