<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Micha wants this to go to Areivim but I need to reply to his Avoda-specific editorial comment:<div><br></div><div><div><div>When our oldest child was of vaccination age, we read all the lay literature (from official sources) which flatly states that there is a statistical risk - some kids do get sick and some do even die from vaccines. We met with an RN to discuss the matter. She basically echoed what Dr. Shinnar has said, namely, there are indeed risks and the main reason to vaccinate is for the good of the community, even though statistically that puts some individuals at risk. In other words, she told us that to be concerned did not make us flat-earth nuts. So that left us with a dilemma - do we put our child at risk by injecting him with a vaccine or put him at risk by not injecting him with a vaccine. </div><div><br></div><div>We took this information to Rav Y. Berkovitz shlita who told us that <i>pshia</i> - negligence - is defined by what most reasonable people do. If most people vaccinate and Reuven doesn't, and his child contracts that disease chas v'shalom, he could be considered negligent. Or vice-versa. I asked him which group of people define the community, he said the greater community, not your microcosm, including non-Jews.</div><div><br></div><div><div><div>On Dec 24, 2012, at 5:31 PM, <a href="mailto:avodah-request@lists.aishdas.org">avodah-request@lists.aishdas.org</a> wrote:</div><blockquote type="cite"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><br></font></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="monospace">[Replies to Areivim. However, given Dr Shinnar's last paragraph, it</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="monospace">would be foolhardy for me to leave the illusion on Avodah that there</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="monospace">actually are people who actually study the field who came out against</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" face="monospace">vaccinations. -micha]</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#007b1b" face="monospace"><br></font></span></blockquote></div><br></div></div></div></body></html>