Five years ago this month, our world was turned upside down by the coronavirus. And while sometimes it seems like a million years ago, it was only a short time ago where our shuls and schools were forced to close, and we watched many of our friends and family suffer and sometimes die from this terrible disease.

I had the opportunity to speak to Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt, a rabbi, professor, chair of medicine at Mount Sinai South Nassau, and a well-recognized hospital epidemiologist and infectious disease physician (and a spokesperson for the Infectious Disease Society of America). Rabbi Dr. Glatt was at the forefront of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, who reflected on that terrible and difficult period of our lives.

Below is the interview:

When did you first hear about the coronavirus?

I first heard about the coronavirus in December 2019, and we were actually very interested in it, as it had the potential for being something extremely unusual. I gave a grand rounds hospital lecture about this new virus in February 2020, before there were any reported cases in the United States. The coronavirus was certainly a subject that piqued our interest at a very early point in time.

Did you ever think that it would be as serious a virus as it turned out to be?

We didn’t realize at first how serious it would be, but we certainly felt that it might be something that we needed to be aware of and watch carefully.

From which sources were you able to obtain reliable information about the coronavirus?

Our main sources of reliable information came from various public health and professional society documents. The Centers for Diseases Control (CDC) was crucial in providing us information, as were numerous other websites that focus on infectious diseases such as the Infectious Diseases Society of America. The National Institutes of Health, the New York State Department of Health, and the American College of Physicians were also good sources of reliable information.

You started a Zoom/YouTube group that many individuals in the Orthodox community joined to hear up-to-date information each week about the coronavirus. How did that develop?

When the virus first emerged, I was asked numerous questions via phone, text and email, and it became clear to me that there was a tremendous need to provide people with information. We first distributed information through our shul, the Young Israel of Woodmere, which was a model shul and one that was followed by many other institutions. Then it was suggested that we organize some sort of forum, in which we could efficiently disseminate information on a regular basis.

I started receiving hundreds of emails daily, with personal questions and a tremendous number of inquiries from schools, shuls, camps and other organizations. I began sending out weekly email updates, and that turned into the COVID-19 Zoom/YouTube program.Every Motzei Shabbat, we would send out new information and present an update via Zoom/YouTube. I always started with a dvar Torah, which was followed by any new information about COVID-19, with an attempt to calm people and give them the information they needed in an efficient way.

Can you share some specific stories about some of the individuals in our community who you helped get through the virus, and who helped you get through this difficult time, in the early stages before the vaccine was available?

My wife and family were truly supportive as they allowed me the time to attempt to address the sheer volume of work. The huge number of questions constantly received, along with my hospital’s emergency situation (lack of supplies, health care workers, quarantines and policies), were combined with the growing needs of the shul and the larger Jewish community. I was receiving questions from rabbis across the world, who were all asking me halachic and medical questions. Professional organizations like the Orthodox Union, the Rabbinical Council of America, the National Council of Young Israel, Agudas Israel and other major Jewish groups all asked for my advice.

At the outset, my hopeful goal was to try and put together a unified coalition in response to the virus, so that everybody would do the same thing based on the best available scientific knowledge at the time. That knowledge was constantly changing. I also asked the roshei yeshiva poskim, such as Rabbi Schachter and Rabbi Willig, the halachic decisors I turn to for psak (halachic opinion), before I offered any advice or recommendations. I did not make any communal policy recommendation regarding COVID before having it vetted by gedolai yisrael.

What is your opinion of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the embattled government official who oversaw the nation’s response to the COVID-19 virus?

I am very thankful that I was not in Anthony Fauci’s shoes. He had an extremely difficult job during COVID. He was often at odds with the government and various other groups. I believe he is a very principled and honest scientist, and I have no inside information as to what he may or may not have done that was inappropriate. He is an extremely respected member of the infectious-disease community. I think people who don’t know what he really did should not be attacking his character, because most people have no idea what was going on at the time. It’s difficult for me to see people castigate an individual who has been a trusted physician and public health official for almost five decades.

You took a very strong position about the importance of getting the vaccine for COVID-19. Did you receive a lot of criticism from anti-vaxxers in the Orthodox community?

Baruch Hashem, the vast majority of feedback I received was very kind. Unfortunately, I received some inappropriate criticism from a small group of people in the Jewish community during this time. I wonder how many of them asked a shaila before they sent me death threats, called me a Nazi, or published anonymous hateful personal attacks. There are always people who have their own agenda and have their own reasons for what they do. I can tell you that I received no compensation for the work that I did during this period of time, other than my work salary. Everything that I did or said was a result of what I believed was medically and halachically sound. I did believe, and I still do believe, that the COVID vaccine was extremely important in saving countless lives.

Unfortunately, there are anti-vaxxers, both in our Jewish community and outside the Jewish community, who were not pleased with the idea of taking a new vaccine. It’s surprising, because these same people were more than willing to take the monoclonal antibody preparations, which were also brand new and not time-tested, yet they were very much against the COVID vaccine. I don’t have a good explanation for this, but the vaccines were extremely effective. The biggest public health error was not properly explaining that the vaccine would not totally prevent or cure the illness. The vaccine was designed to try and prevent but even more importantly improve the outcome if you did get COVID. It did that very well, but it wasn’t perfect. Nobody ever stated that it was perfect, or that it would totally prevent one from getting the virus. It did prevent one from getting seriously ill from the virus, and it saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

The Charedi community, more so than other Jewish denominations and other religious groups, always place a strong emphasis on going to the very best doctors and hospitals when faced with a disease or illness. Yet a significant percentage of the Charedi community is against taking the COVID-19 vaccine—and are even wary of other vaccines for children. How do you explain this apparent disconnect?

I cannot explain why various people in the Charedi or non-Charedi community, along with individuals in the non-Jewish world, choose not to take vaccinations, when this is something that has been scientifically proven. We have successfully eradicated smallpox with a vaccine and essentially eliminated polio with a vaccine. Unfortunately, when people refuse to take vaccines, we see a recurrence of certain diseases, such as diphtheria (pertussis) and measles. There is hard-core science to support the effectiveness of vaccinations. To my knowledge there are no infectious disease doctors who are anti-vax. Anti-vax physicians in general have no expertise in infectious diseases and vaccinations. I simply cannot understand why some people would take such a hard-line approach, considering the wealth of scientific data that supports vaccinating. I am not in favor of vaccinating every single person with every single vaccine, but vaccines are lifesaving and are very important in our battle against infectious diseases.

Do you personally know any anti-vaxxers who contracted COVID—and then told you they regretted their initial decision not to get vaccinated?

I have taken care of patients who contracted COVID and who were anti-vax … and some of them told me that they regretted their initial decision not to vaccinate. It’s difficult for a person to admit that he or she was wrong, but there are well-known personalities who were anti-vaxxers and subsequently changed their position and admitted that they made a mistake. People are entitled to their own opinion, and I assume those people mean well and we can agree to disagree. I would add that five years later all the concerns expressed about our DNA changing and wholesale infertility and other claims made without scientific evidence have certainly not come through. And great gedolei yisroel have come out strongly supporting and even obligating important vaccinations, including at last Shabbos’ Chemed Conference on Medical Halacha. This is especially critical as we are in the midst of a measles outbreak in various parts of the United States, including current cases in Borough Park and Bergen County. May Hashem have mercy on all of klal Yisroel.

Many of the Orthodox Jewish newspapers and periodicals are filled with ads for alternative medicine treatments. How do you explain this trend? What is your general feeling about the growth of alternative medicine?

I understand the need for advertisements to support a paper. I do have a hard time understanding why a publisher would print something that is not proven and/or that is potentially dangerous without appropriate disclaimers. That’s not to say that all alternative medical treatments are dangerous, but some of them are.

What are the biggest changes you have seen in medicine, specifically how doctors and other medical professionals are viewed by the public?

Unfortunately, I think there has been somewhat of a degradation of physicians, science and public health in the eyes of many people in recent years. Some of that might be appropriate. I think the public health community did not do a stellar job during the COVID pandemic, which was something that we were not as well equipped to handle as we thought. I think there were areas where they could have been faster to react, and certain information that was promulgated wasn’t as accurate as we would have ideally liked. However, that should not diminish the tremendous work that many in the public health field, and all health care workers who put their lives on the line every day, performed during the COVID pandemic that saved many lives. On an individual level, I think most people feel that their physicians are doing a good job. There are always some people who feel they know better than their rabbis, doctors and other medical professionals, which is unfortunate.

The medical profession is very different from the time you were in medical school and became a doctor. Would you want your grandchildren to pursue a career as an MD?

Baruch Hashem, I have been blessed with the opportunity to be a rav and a physician. In my opinion, they are the two greatest professions a person can enter. I think being a physician or health care worker allows you to do a mitzvah every single second of your professional life, as you are returning someone to health and fulfilling the mitzvah of bikur cholim and hashavat aveida (by returning their health) in a unique way. Being able to help people out in this way makes medicine a phenomenal profession. Some of my own rebbeim have told me that if they couldn’t have become a rosh yeshiva, they would have liked to have become a doctor. I would be thrilled if any of my grandchildren decided to pursue a career in medicine, and I would certainly encourage it. At the same time, it’s absolutely important to be a compassionate and caring physician—and always follow what the halacha says.

Michael Feldstein, who lives in Stamford, is the author of “Meet Me in the Middle” (meet-me-in-the-middle-book.com), a collection of essays on contemporary Jewish life. He can be reached at [email protected].