Velveteen Rabbit: Do all the toys really need to be burned?

I’m curious about this.

I had Scarlet Fever as a child, and I remember my mother forcing me to throw out all my lovies, all my stuffed animals. I cried and I still don’t think I’m over it. And then when I got strep throat (at around 9) I came out of the tub to find that she had thrown out my new lovey. It was a heart shaped pillow, I even tried to find it in the trash!

Is this really necessary when a child gets ill? I’m not really old (24 today!) so I assume that maybe it was the norm “back in the day” but with hot water washing machines, can’t it just be washed? Is that not enough?
Was this a common practice?

My little boy is sick, not with anything serious, I’m already gathering all the linens and blankets to be washed, and it’s like a Lysol bomb has gone off so the other little guy doesn’t get sick as well.