Vaccine Policy

In 2007, the National Ramah Commission approved a universal vaccination policy that has since been adopted by all Ramah camps. With only specific verified true medical exceptions, all campers, staff, and family members of staff who attend any Ramah camp must be appropriately vaccinated, per the standards of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) or the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS). The AAP recommended schedule can be found here. The Canadian Paediatric Society recommendations can be found here.

Our camp communities are composed of both healthy and more medically fragile individuals, as well as infants not yet vaccinated due to their age. Universal vaccination is known to reduce the risk of transmission of disease to vulnerable individuals. Families entrust their children to us during the summer to educate them, inspire them and keep them safe, healthy and happy. Vaccination is an important part of reducing illness from specific preventable infectious diseases and plays an integral part in promoting health and safety. The camp community is a kehilla kedosha, a holy community, and the prevention of serious and sometimes life-threatening disease is one way to protect the strength and integrity of the kehilla. It is our responsibility as members of the Jewish community to respect each other and protect individuals who may be put at increased risk by our actions.

Thus, adherence to these schedules of routine childhood vaccination remain unchanged and a requirement for attendance at the Ramah overnight camps, day camps and Israel programs.