Do Orthodox Jews Vaccinate Their Children?

This question gained urgency during the 2018-2019 measles outbreak in Brooklyn's Orthodox community. The headlines suggested that Orthodox Jews as a group oppose vaccination. That framing was wrong — and damaging.

The Mainstream Position

Orthodox Judaism overwhelmingly supports vaccination. The reasons are halachic (legal-religious), not just practical:

Pikuach nefesh — the obligation to preserve life is the most important principle in Jewish law. It overrides almost every other commandment. Vaccination protects life — both the individual's and the community's.

Major rabbinic authorities who have issued pro-vaccination rulings include:

• Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv (the leading Litvish posek of his generation)
• Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky (initially expressed hesitation, later clarified support)
• The Rabbinical Council of America (Modern Orthodox)
• Agudath Israel of America (Haredi/Yeshivish umbrella organization)
• Multiple Hasidic rebbes

The OU (Orthodox Union) and the RCA (Rabbinical Council of America) have issued explicit statements supporting vaccination and rejecting religious exemptions based on Jewish law.

The 2018-2019 Outbreak

What actually happened: anti-vaccine literature (much of it produced by non-Jewish anti-vax groups) was distributed in parts of Williamsburg and Borough Park. A small number of families — concentrated in specific schools and neighborhoods — refused to vaccinate their children. Measles, a disease that had been virtually eliminated, returned.

The community response was swift:

• Rabbis issued public rulings requiring vaccination
• Schools expelled unvaccinated children
• Community health organizations launched vaccination drives
• New York City mandated vaccination for the affected ZIP codes

The outbreak was contained. Vaccination rates, which had been above 90% in most Orthodox communities, returned to near-universal levels.

The Nuance

The pocket of resistance was driven by:

• Misinformation (anti-vax pamphlets in Yiddish circulated through community channels)
• Distrust of government (a cultural trait in some insular communities with historical roots)
• Social media (even in communities with limited internet use, WhatsApp groups spread anti-vax content)
• A small number of sympathetic figures who gave anti-vax views a veneer of religious legitimacy

It was NOT driven by Jewish law. There is no halachic basis for refusing vaccination. The rabbinical authorities who matter most in these communities are unambiguous: vaccination is required.

For Healthcare Providers

If you treat Orthodox Jewish patients:

• Assume they vaccinate unless told otherwise
• If a patient expresses vaccine hesitancy, cite rabbinic authorities — this carries more weight than CDC statistics in some communities
• Partner with community health organizations (e.g., Amudim, Chai Lifeline, Ezras Nashim) who have trust within the community
• Do not assume that one family's refusal represents community consensus

For deeper guidance on caring for Orthodox patients, see our page for healthcare providers.

The Bottom Line

Orthodox Jews vaccinate their children. The rare exceptions are exactly that — rare, non-representative, and condemned by the community's own leadership. Framing this as an "Orthodox Jewish issue" was a media failure that reinforced stereotypes and obscured the real story: a community that responded to a crisis by doubling down on the science its own religious authorities endorsed.