Measles Outbreak: New York Mayor Bill De Blasio Declares Health Emergency, Orders Vaccinations

By Audacy

(WCBS 880) - Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a public health emergency in parts of Williamsburg and said unvaccinated people in several ZIP codes will be required to get an MMR vaccine as a measles outbreak continues to swell in the Orthodox Jewish community. 

Under the mandatory vaccinations, members of the city's Health Department will check the vaccination records of any individual who may have been in contact with infected patients. Those who have not received the MMR vaccine or do not have evidence of immunity may be given a violation and could be fined $1,000.

"We have a situation now where children are in danger. We have to take this seriously. Every one of us has to feel responsibility for the situation because measles is so contagious, can spread so quickly," de Blasio said at news conference at a Williamsburg library on Tuesday morning.

“There’s no question that vaccines are safe, effective and life-saving,” de Blasio said. “I urge everyone, especially those in affected areas, to get their MMR vaccines to protect their children, families and communities.”

The city's Health Department says yeshivas and day care centers will immediately be issued a violation and could be subject to closure if they let in unvaccinated students.

The mayor told NY1 on Monday: “What we’re seeing is very clear, children cannot — must not — go to school if they are not vaccinated.”

He went on to say that the school will be held responsible if an unvaccinated child attends classes there and reasserted the Health Department’s threat of fines and closure.

“We have a clear and present danger,” he said, according to the New York Post. “This is serious, serious stuff.”

Related: Brooklyn Yeshivas Threatened With Closure Amid Measles Outbreak

A one-week surge in measles cases has sickened Americans in numbers not seen measles was declared eliminated in 2000.

The CDC says the anti-vaccine movement is partly responsible for 100 new cases last week – 465 cases so far this year – mostly in the Orthodox Jewish community in New York.

Currently, the number of measles cases in the Brooklyn Orthodox community is up to 285, according to the Health Department. Cases are especially high in Williamsburg and Borough Park, which have so far seen 228 cases and 49 cases, respectively.

In January, one yeshiva defied the Health Department's order and allowed non-vaccinated kids back in. That yeshiva is now connected to more than 40 measles cases.

Related: Judge Knocks Down Rockland County’s Emergency Measles Declaration

State Sen. David Carlucci is pushing legislation that would end most exemptions for vaccinations for children going to school.

“If you have a medical exemption and a doctor signs off on it, then that is totally fine. But we have to stop this practice of allowing people to opt out of the vaccination process,” Carlucci said.

As Passover approaches, there’s concern people will travel, gather together and potentially spread the virus.

No deaths have been reported so far, but measles can lead to pneumonia and encephalitis.