In an unprecedented move, the Health Ministry has called five doctors in for urgent clarification on suspicion that the "information dispensed by them to the public discourages people from vaccinating adults and children, misleading the public and harming public health."
The doctors are also suspected of conduct "unbefitting a doctor," which, should they be convicted of the charges, could lead to disciplinary action being taken against them, possibly including the revocation of their medical license.
Doctors and senior health care officials told Israel Hayom earlier this month that a series of Health Ministry failures have led to the recent measles outbreak, which has reached numbers not seen in the country in decades. They said the current situation was nothing short of a "medical and administrative meltdown."
Some 1,400 Israelis have contracted the disease so far in 2018. Earlier this month, an 18-month toddler died of measles in Jerusalem.
The experts were very critical of the Health Ministry for doing nothing to counter anti-vaccine parents and doctors who dispense false and dangerous information about the dangers of vaccines.
After learning of the allegations, the ministry contacted five doctors suspected of misleading the public on the issue.
The allegations against the five doctors are based on their posts to various medical sites and forums as well as media interviews. In some cases, they are based on medical treatments they offer to patients in lieu of a vaccination, like homeopathic remedies.
The Health Ministry contended that the fact that these individuals are licensed doctors who allegedly disseminate misleading information against vaccines is causing actual harm to the public's health.
The Health Ministry also demanded that these doctors, who advertise that vaccines cause damage, provide evidence of these alleged vaccine-related injuries.
Meanwhile, data obtained by Israel Hayom shows that in the northern town of Pardes Hanna alone, 500 out of the community's 600 school-age children have not been vaccinated for measles, and the Health Ministry has done nothing about it.
