Judaic Grounds to Decline Vaccination, written by Rabbi Michoel Green, is a response to a pro-mandate rabbi who claimed there are no valid Jewish grounds to refuse vaccination. Rabbi Green argues the opposite and reframes the entire question. The real question isn’t “may I refuse?” It’s “does halacha permit vaccination at all?” since any injection constitutes a chavala, a wound, which halacha prohibits unless for direct curative benefit to that individual. Herd immunity is not a halachic consideration. No one may be stabbed with a needle against their will. That has always been the default, Rabbi Green states, and no special rabbinic permission is needed to decline. In his post, he makes the following points:

• Judaism is not monolithic.  Rabbis can disagree, and every individual’s religious beliefs must be respected.
• The correct question is not “May I refuse vaccination?” but “Does halacha permit vaccination at all?”
• Any injection is a chavala, which is prohibited unless it is needed for direct curative benefit to that specific individual.
• Vaccinating solely to protect others may be praiseworthy, like donating a kidney, but cannot be mandated.
• A parent’s right to make this decision for a child who cannot consent is itself halachically questionable.
• The mandatory schedule includes vaccines with no protective benefit for most children; the Hep. B vaccine is the clearest case. ¹
• No special rabbinic permission is needed to decline vaccination. That has always been the default.
• Something has hijacked the narrative, and rabbis who claim otherwise need to return to Shas and poskim without contemporary bias.

Read Rabbi Green’s full post here: Judaic Grounds to Decline Vaccination.