The toddler who died of measles complications in Jerusalem was the victim of her parents' decision not to vaccinate her and her siblings against the disease. Having said that, punishing her parents and others who forgo vaccinations for their children is not necessarily the right course of action if we want to stop this from happening again.
Next week, the Ministerial Committee for Legislation is expected to vote on a measure to impose financial penalties on anti-vaccine parents. The measure initially called for raising the mandatory health care tax on such parents, but after input from the legal advisers it was watered down significantly. Now the only penalty is in the form of denying certain tax benefits to parents who refuse to change course. Private citizens have also tried to push various measures that would prevent unvaccinated youngsters from going to school and spreading disease.
But before ministers greenlight sanctions that would punish children for their parents' sins, first we must remember that none of these proposals would have saved this 18-month-old girl. Her parents never registered her with the Interior Ministry and she was never part of any recognized school or daycare center, and it is unclear whether their income would even be affected by any tax.
There are also ideological opponents to vaccinations, who simply cannot be swayed by any financial penalty.
So what can be done to increase the rate of vaccination without hurting children and their parents? Four years ago, the State Comptroller's Office issued various recommendations, although they were never implemented. The comptroller suggested making vaccines more accessible in areas where there are large clusters of non-vaccinated populations; improving the Health Ministry's data collection efforts, since the ministry currently has no way of knowing vaccination rates in schools and towns, to focus the efforts where they are most needed; and increasing transparency and having public officials join the ministry's advisory board, which is currently composed only of professionals.
Currently, vaccine centers are almost impossible to reach by telephone, even just to schedule an appointment. Parents sometimes have to choose between being late to work or vaccinating their children because clinics are generally open only in the mornings. There is also a lot we can do to make sure our public health officials – our first line of defense – have strong resources to do their job. Vaccines are controversial, even among some doctors.
Personally, I believe that being vaccinated is similar to not driving on Yom Kippur: Neither is legally binding, but we still comply because of good will, solidarity and mutual respect, not because of some law or penalty.
