My name is Nicole Rogerson, I live in upstate New York in Sullivan County with my husband and three children, in a area that is highly populated in the summer months with Hasidic and Orthodox families. My son Bryce, who received a heart transplant five years ago is immunosuppressed, due to the anti rejection medication he has to take daily in order to keep his body from rejecting his new heart.
We as a family take every step we can to help protect our son to keep from getting sick. We get the flu shot every year, which we never did prior to him having a transplant because we believed that it was not effective or necessary. We do this not because we want to but because we have to, to protect him from possible death.
This summer the Hasidic and orthodox community will begin to travel their way up Sullivan county with their families. This is a great concern for my family. We will be shopping in the same stores, going to the same gas stations, urgent cares, hospitals, and gyms.
We would like to take him to the new water park, but we are hesitant due to the fear that he could possibly be exposed to the measles virus which could kill him. This not only effects him, but also his siblings as they too cannot go to these fun places and possibly be exposed.
I respect not only a persons religion but also a person’s right to choose what they want to do with their bodies. With that said, I also take other people into consideration when I have to make a decision and how it will affect them.
This summer as the Hasidic and orthodox community begins to travel to Sullivan county, please take those of us that live here into consideration and how your religious choices not to get vaccinated can possibly effect us, and our children.
Nicole Rogerson – Sullivan County, NY
NOTE: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of YWN.
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37 Responses
This is an opportunity for a massive
Kiddish Hashem
The Agudas Yisroel could respond with
maybe an offical line …..
I guarantee the anti-vaxxers couldn’t give a darn about what this women is asking of them. Anti-vaxxers are selfish people who only care about their point of view. I shudder to think what’s going to happen this summer upstate.
I think she speaks for many frum people as well.
I’m glad that Ms. Rogerson is an avid reader of Yeshiva World.
And which water park is she referring to that those Chasid’s will be going to that she’s scared to take her Bryce to? This letter is fake. It was written by one of ours in order to make a point. I get it, but no need to post phony letters.
Loshenhora,
You are a fool! Haven’t they already said enough? Do you think the people not vaxxing, really give a flying hoot about what the Aguda says?
Use your brain!
The anti-vaxxers continue to cause massive Chilul Hashem and sinas Yisroel due to their gaavah and stupidity
They couldn’t care less about you and your family, so why would they care about this upstate lady and her family
If I was Mrs roger son I would leave Sullivan county for 2 months to avoid my son getting ill
Not getting involved is wrong. Googled the name and there is in fact such a person by that name living in Sullivan County.
Yesodyosef613: Yes! What i keep on saying-antivaxxers are selfish people! Period!
NotGettingInvolved: It doesn’t matter who wrote it but there is a very valid point here. The new Casino in Monticello has built a new water park this year.
Re: Not getting involved:
A quick google search will tell you that Bryce is from Neversink NY. He indeed had a heart transplant, and has been in and out of hospitals for a good chunk of his childhood…
This is a perfect example of a case where herd immunity is so important.
I wish Bryce and his family only the best going forward!
Where did this “religious choice” come in. It has nothing to do with eligion.
@not getting involved
Why jump to the conclusion that this letter is fake?! She is referring to the new water park opening in the Monticello casino.
I guess Mr Rogerson doesn’t read the news. While there are many Orthodox that don’t vaccinate, the measels outbreak in the USA is not exclusive to the Jews. There are hundreds of cases across America, and thousands more in Europe. This should be a message to the anti-vaxxers not to the JEWISH anti-vaxxers. We need to start recognizing the hate even when cloaked in well hidden messages.
Reply to Not getting involved.
Just google this kids name and you will be proven wrong. See link.
http://www.scdemocratonline.com/news/02February/13/heart.htm
Sullivan County should enforce rules that no one is allowed in public places without vaccination & if caught they will be fined minimum $2000.00.
If they are able to close schools in Williamsburg then they should be able to do the same in all the camps etc.
I wish they would do it in Lakewood
Typical. So many ortho don’t care about others but themselves. Then they wonder why people hate them.
All of you that are anti-vaxxers:
Please think of what you are doing. This could set back anti-semitism to the levels of the early 1900’s. They will be able to claim that we are poisoning their cities. Do you to be thrown out of planes, trains, buses and public places on a regular bases? They will not say that they hate Jews. They will point to the public danger posed by the Jewish minority of anti-vaxxers.
Think before you act!
yesodyosef.
anti vaxxers are not selfish.
they do what’s good for them
just like you do what’s good for you.
America was supposed to be a free country….
I’m not sure anymore.
Attention: Mr. Not Getting Involved… Here’s a piece of helpful advice… Stick to your moniker and don’t get involved. If you can’t restrain yourself, you would do well to do a simple Google search before posting. That would have yielded this article:
http://www.scdemocratonline.com/news/02February/13/heart.htm
Questioning this respectfully expressed and 100% legitimate request may cause people to ignore it. Hopefully now, they’ll ignore you and heed the numerous rabbinic rulings to vaccinate, if only for the sake of others.
I agree but they won’t listen. Real change will happen when bungalow colonies and camps don’t allow anti vaxxers.
In case Mrs. Rogerson is real and reading responses on YWN, I would like to take the opportunity to tell her that contrary to popular belief religious jews for the most part do vaccinate and statistically at a higher rate than the non orthodox world. I think the number is 90% versus about 83% for everyone else. As in every community there are the vocal few who seem to speak for everyone else but the great majority of orthodox jews are vaccinated! Each person who brought the measles back from a different country and started the whole outbreak was actually vaccinated as were many of the people who got sick. The number of non vaxxers is minute and most of their children have been vaccinated anyway because all the schools refused to let them attend without. I am not sure why the measles continues to spread and I feel sad for you Mrs. Rogerson for the pain your family has already suffered and the fear that follows you, but please be aware that the vast majority of orthodox jews agrees with you and is vaccinated. Many are even voluntarily being titred to make sure they are still immune and if not getting the shot again.
Did ywn verify the accuracy of the letter admin pls respond
Maybe it doesn’t matter if it’s true, cud it be ? I can tell you the camps are having a zero tolerance policy for anti vax the latest report a slow down in the spread as they crack down on willy
Ps the new water park is at the casino and not taking frum groups for this season
“please take those of us that live here into consideration and how your religious choices not to get vaccinated can possibly effect us”
I hope some one let’s her ( and all ) know that it is not a RELIGIOUS CHOICE. It happens to be frum people but is not a religious choice
Not Getting Involved,
You sound as stupid as an Anti Vaxer. Or you like what you read or it’s phony??!! And why could it not be from someone that’s not Jewish and lives in Sullivan County that are scared of SELFISH people like YOU that may kill her child!
Hope no school takes your child and you can home school your kids.
Commonsense, very well put. Mrs. Rogerson, you are right and I appreciate your fears. I am very concerned for my grandchildren who also can’t be vaccinated.
But with respect, Chassidic Jews are far from the only ones refusing to vax. Leftover hippies from the 70’s, conspiracy theorists, uber-health nuts (irony there), and misguided and easily influenced families who are not Jewish have contributed greatly to this crisis. Recently, a church congregation was headlined because of the congregants’ refusal to vax and their measles outbreak.
I wish there was some way to monitor vaccinations but it will never happen because of the obsessive fear of government interference. This situation is one where the government should “interfere.”
Laughing is 100% on the button: “So many ortho don’t care about others but themselves. Then they wonder why people hate them.” The problem is that people don’t just hate them, they hate all of us, you and me as well. This is the truth that the anti-vaxxers don’t care about. We are used to many so-called Orthodox Yidden who don’t care about “the goyim” but now their complacency about others is affecting us Yidden and they still don’t care?
At the time the article in this link “http://www.scdemocratonline.com/news/02February/13/heart.htm” was written, both Mr. and Mrs. Rogerson were corrections officers. If that is still their profession, let’s hope they don’t work in Ottisville!
Reason why many ortho jews aren’t vaccinating isn’t because of Torah. It’s because many spend too much time on the whatsapp groups, crunchy parent blogs, talk radio shock jocks and hearing all kinds of crazy conspiracies. Turn the radio off and listen to the rabbonim.
Though…I really don’t know what is going on in Satmar…they have all kinds of issues to deal with over there…
Justme22, they are claiming a religious exemption
> ny100k
“There are hundreds of cases across America”
What is your point? I think of the readership here is being smart enough to understand the significance of numbers when taken as a percentage of the population instead of “gross” numbers. So while the non-Jewish population of the country is (in round numbers) well over 300 million and the Jewish Orthodox population is (in round numbers) say one million, the impression from the media is that there are as many Orthodox measles outbreaks as non-Jewish measles outbreaks.
@anonymous Jew
I understand they are claiming a religious exemption but it’s not a religious choice they are just using religious exemption as a tool, as a place to hide. No different than taking a religious exemption to for example take off from work in Tuesdays.
In fact I know non religious Jews who use the religious exemption not to vaccinate in their private non Jewish school
This letter contains a serious mistake, as it implies that the anti-vaxxers decisions not to vaccinate is based on their Jewish religion. Nothing in Torah prohibits vaccination. Jewish anti-vaxxers suffer the same ignorance and selfishness as all other anti-vaxxers. Anti-vaxxers – if they really believe their nonsense – should be made to wear a red letter A on their clothing.
@mom12 America is a free country when your actions don’t put other people in danger. Anti-vaxxers aren’t only selfish they’re also deniers of the majority of medical and rabbinical experts. You want to be an anti-vaxxer move to your own island.
“Not Getting Involved” wrote: “And which water park is she referring to that those Chasid’s will be going to that she’s scared to take her Bryce to? This letter is fake. It was written by one of ours in order to make a point. I get it, but no need to post phony letters”
Because the letter reflected some ignorance of Jewish culture, you wisely concluded that it must have been written by a Jew, and not by a non-Jew as described. lol Great logic there.
Dear Mrs. Rogerson,
I hope your son stays healthy and avoids measles! I also truly hope that those who have avoided the vaccine will wise up and vaccinate their children.
Best wishes to you and your family, and especially little Bryce.
I live in Sullivan County and (contrary to last name) am Jewish. FYI, I had posted a reply to this letter in a Sullivan County Facebook group about the mis-assumption that anti-vax is a Jewish religious preference, to which Ms. Rogerson replied directly to me:
“…yes I was absolutely misinformed as I later found out, after I wrote this letter. I went by what I had seen in the news and by the interviews that I had watched, unfortunately this is how it was portrayed in the media!!! So I do apologize if I have offended anyone.”
As we know there is a lot of bigotry and anti-Semitism out there, including up here in Sullivan County. But I do not believe that Ms. Rogerson was speaking out of bigotry – rather simply as she stated misinformation caused by reading the other bigoted crap out there.
I wish Ms. Rogerson and her family well and pray for her son’s health just as much as my own…