As Hand Sanitizer Sales Soar, Haredim Slowly Begin To Come To Grips With Flu Pandemic

But despite the large number of infections in yeshivas, there are no plans to cut back on mass learning, public prayers or communal holiday meals. 

Sanitizer sales soar, Haredim forgo their communal wine
Yair Ettinger and Adi Dovrat-Meseritz • Ynet

As the summer ends, Israelis are preparing for more than the usual back-to-school and Jewish holiday periods. This year they are also getting ready for swine flu. 

While Israelis have not been asked to change their hugging and kissing habits - yet - as elsewhere in the world, nonetheless the first signs of hysteria over the H1N1 virus are appearing. 

Sales of cleaning and sanitation products have leaped by thousands of percent. Representatives of the SuperPharm pharmacy chain say they have not seen anything like this since the Second Gulf War - hand sanitizing gel sales are up 4,000 percent since the school year started last week. 

In the last two days, the chain sold 50,000 units of the gel. Suppliers can't keep up with the demand, and have been forced to supplement local products with Asian imports. 

But the Health Ministry has yet to publish recommendations calling on the public to stock up on sanitary products or face masks, and says the usual measures are enough: wash your hands, and cover your mouth with a handkerchief when sneezing or coughing. Most importantly, don't touch body parts where flu viruses concentrate and have the best chance of infection: the mouth, nose and eyes. 

Overdoing it, and violating ministry rules 

"One third of the meeting before the opening of the school year was devoted to swine flu," said the mother of a Tel Aviv first-grader. She said the children were asked to come to class with wet wipes and hand cleansing gel. Any child who misses a day of school must return with a doctor's note, saying he or she is not infectious. 

However, the Education Ministry has not instructed students to bring sanitation materials to school. "One of the ways to avoid flu infection is being hygienic, washing hands with soap and water only," the ministry says. It "objects to requiring parents to equip their children with chemical preparations." 

As with most ad campaigns in Israel, the Health Ministry's campaign against swine flu has its ultra-Orthodox version. It is similar to the one for the general public, but the cartoon characters washing their hands are all wearing skullcaps. 

The ultra-Orthodox community is no less worried about what it calls Mexican flu - to avoid mentioning the name of unkosher animals - than the public at large. However, despite the large number of infections in yeshivas, there are no plans to cut back on mass learning, public prayers or holiday meals. 

Creative solutions have appeared to avoid infection and increase public awareness. For example, ritual baths now have signs calling on the public to avoid infection. Even the Gerer Hassidim have given up their generations-old custom of sharing the rabbi's Shabbat wine, and now each Hasid gets his own disposable cup.

Comments

[Ben]

There is no more reason to cut back on "to cut back on mass learning, public prayers or communal holiday meals" then on riding buses, going to cinema, going to school, going to concert, going to sport event, neither of which are currently being canceled.

I don't see a reason to single out haredim in this particular instance.

[critical_minyan]

The sanitizers sounds like a new sect of chasidim. a combination of Sanz and Lubavitcher.

[yidandahalf]

This whole hand sanitizer trip is a racket. IMHO, it's a lot of total bullshit which I wish I had invented already and got rich on.

[phillip]

What.....I thought that the Rabbi's flying
over Israel praying would take care of the
swine flu.

[WoolSilkCotton]

I agree with all four of our above posters.

You should always wash hands after touching a stranger, using the bathroom, or blowing your nose. Nothing new about that.

People who work in crowded public places, go to school, or live in dormitories always needed to have their vaccinations up to date, especially meningitis, flu, DPT, measles, hepatitis, etc.

Stay home if you are sick. What a brilliant new idea.

All the current hysteria is just drek to feed the masses and to print newspapers.

[Maskil]

Israelis are buying Purell like hand sanitizers like crazy, and Israeli pharmacies are marketing them as "products to prevent flu." However, these products are only antibacterial and do not kill any type of virus and will not protect against the H1N1 vius. The article notes:

...the Education Ministry has not instructed students to bring sanitation materials to school. "One of the ways to avoid flu infection is being hygienic, washing hands with soap and water only," the ministry says. It "objects to requiring parents to equip their children with chemical preparations."

The vast majority of citizens are largly ignorant regarding the proper sanitation methods, no more ignorant than the Haredim.

[WoolSilkCotton]

Most public bathrooms everywhere are always out of soap, usually don't have hot water, and no longer have paper towels (just those useless hot air blowers).

[Yochanan Lavie]

I'm ba-ack! Apologies to the Fab 4:

Oh yeah, you've got the swine flu
I think you´ll understand
When I encounter fellow Jews
I wanna wash my hands (3x)

Oh, please, rebbe
Go fly above the land
and please, say to me

You´ll let me wash my hands
Now let me wash my hands
I wanna wash my hands

And when I touch you I feel clammy, and cold
It´s just rigor mortis
From the flu
That's so bold (3x)

Yeah you, got that sickness
It is becoming "pan" [pandemic]
While I say tehillim,
I wanna wash my hands (3x)

And when I touch you it's negiah, no good
It´s such a feeling
Of the swine flu
In the hood (3x)

Yeah you, got that makkah
You're eating food that's bland
In tchinek, don't be hocking
I wanna wash my hands (3x)

[state of the Jews]

Good one YL, you should send it to Rechov Zumzum!

[WoolSilkCotton]

Hooray for Yochanan!

[Yochanan Lavie]

Thanks, SOJ, WSC.

[Shmarya]

Israelis are buying Purell like hand sanitizers like crazy, and Israeli pharmacies are marketing them as "products to prevent flu." However, these products are only antibacterial and do not kill any type of virus and will not protect against the H1N1 vius.

What the hell are you talking about?

Purell, etc., kills bacteria and viruses. It's an alcohol gel. And it is used just that way in hospitals and healthcare facilities all over the US.

[Maskil]

I stand corrected. Thanks.

[yidandahalf]

So is it any good after the alcohol dries? Now that is some scary shit, alcohol!

[WoolSilkCotton]

Once it dries, the germicidal effect is done. Then, keep your hands where they belong. If they touch someone or someplace again, wash again. If you work where you need to touch people, food, waste products, etc. you may be required to wear gloves.
This has been in place for about the past 25 years, since AIDS became known and Universal Precautions became the standard in health care.

Does being on FM count as Continuing Medical Education credit?

If so, Shmarya, can you issue CME certificates to those of us in the medical field? :)

[Office of the Chief Rabbi]

Oh good, YL's back from vacation. Missed you.

[Yochanan Lavie]

Nice to hear from you, too, OCR.

[nobody]

"there are no plans to cut back on mass learning, public prayers or communal holiday meals. "

I never saw any recommendation to the public to avoid gathering with groups of people. In fact, despite the increased "risk" involved, schools are open for session, and the education commisioner of the US govt said the best way to handle this is to keep schools open. You know, school, where, like, big groups of students gather. Yeah, they are not cutting back on group prayer in synagogues, nor have the secular authorities cut down on group education in schools. What a ridiculous post. Shmarya is completely out of it.

[WoolSilkCotton]

Nobody, I agree with you, except for the final sentence.

Shmarya's work to keep this blog going is praiseworthy. Some articles are hits, a few are misses. This article is from Haartez. Shmarya didn't write this.

[Dr. Dave]

Triclosan is a poor agent, can lead to resistance and can form toxic compounds if mixed with chlorine treated water.

Isopropyl alcohol has poor antiviral activity.

60% -90% ethanol is best overall, but coated bacteria (enterococcus) and spore forming bacteria (clostridium) can be resistant.

[Maskil]

Thank you WoolSilkCotton & Dr. Dave for filling in on the benefits/deficiencies of alchohol in combatting viruses.

It does raise the question why the CDC equates alchohol based hand gels with standard soap & water hand washing?

[Shmarya]

Because all hand washing does is – if done correctly and long enough – remove the germs from your hands. It does not kill those germs.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizer like Purell does kill most germs, and it is far easier to correctly use than hand washing is to correctly do.

Which means most of the time, Purell is better.

[Ben]

Hand washing and sanitizers are for non-believers. True believers will not get swine flu in any case since the Rabbis have already taken care of it:
a) Israel was overflown by 50 kabbalists with shofars
b) R.Ovadia and R.Omar organized fast and prayers on Wednesday a couple of weeks ago to protect Israel against it.

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As with most ad campaigns in Israel, the Health Ministry's campaign against swine flu has its ultra-Orthodox version.

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...the Education Ministry has not instructed students to bring sanitation materials to school. "One of the ways to avoid flu infection is being hygienic, washing hands with soap and water only," the ministry says. It "objects to requiring parents to equip their children with chemical preparations."