Gal Gadot, Bar Refaeli urge Israelis to get measles vaccine

Wonder Woman Actress Gal Gadot and supermodel Bar Refaeli lend a hand to encourage Israelis to get the measles vaccine.

By World Israel News Staff

With Israel facing one of its worst measles outbreaks in decades with 1,200 cases reported from the start of 2018 to the start of November, Israeli superstars Gal Gadot and Bar Refaeli decided to lend their fame to Israel’s vaccination efforts.

Wonder Woman actress Gadot posted to her over 10 million followers on November 27 with a picture of herself covering her vaccinated arm with her hand. “We’re all posting pictures with our hands on our vaccinated shoulders. A vaccinated environment is a safe environment. In matters of medicine, listen to doctors.

Gadot included the hashtag #muchusgan – a combination of the Hebrew words for “protected,” “vaccinated” and “kindergarten.” The hashtag is part of a volunteer campaign started in September by Israeli doctors and parents to convince private pre-schools in the country to require vaccinations.

Gadot follows supermodel Bar Refaeli, who posted on November 18 with a photo of herself also holding her arm as if freshly vaccinated.  covering her upper arm. “On Tuesday 11/20, we’re all uploading pictures with our hand on our vaccinated shoulder because a vaccinated environment is a safe environment! #muchusgan.”

The Israeli model then added the hashtag “#מחוסגן,” which is a combination of the Hebrew words for “protected” (מוגן, mugan), “vaccinated” (מחוסן, mechusan), and “kindergarten” (גן, gan). The hashtag is part of a campaign started by doctors and parents encouraging all 13,000 private Israeli preschools to require full vaccinations. On their website, you can register your preschool or school as a vaccinated school.

Measles is a highly contagious disease and one of the leading causes of death worldwide in young children, according to the World Health Organization. It is easily prevented with a vaccine.

In Israel, several religious sects oppose vaccination, and the Health Ministry has stepped up a campaign to increase vaccination rates in unprotected communities in recent months.

On Nov. 1, an 18-month-old baby died of complications of the disease at a Jerusalem hospital, the country’s first death from measles since 2003. The child was not vaccinated.

The outbreak comes as the World Health Organization has reported tens of thousands of measles cases across Europe.

Associated Press contributed to this report.