Bill de Blasio ordered people living in four zip codes in Williamsburg to get vaccinated or face fines up to $1,000

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Battling a fast-growing measles outbreak, New York City has declared an emergency and ordered mandatory vaccinations under threat of fine in a Brooklyn neighborhood where the disease is spreading.

New York’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, announced a public health emergency on Tuesday morning and ordered people living in four zip codes in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn to get the vaccine or face fines up to $1,000.

Measles cases soar across US: 'It's getting worse' Read more

The city has also threatened to shut down yeshivas, or traditional Jewish religious schools, if they do not follow an order to keep unvaccinated children out of class.

There have been 285 cases of measles since the outbreak began in the fall, mostly in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, and the number has more than doubled since February.

“We cannot allow this dangerous disease to make a comeback here in New York City. We have to stop it now,” De Blasio said on Tuesday in Brooklyn.

Measles has made a comeback in New York and around the country as some parents refuse to get their children vaccinated, citing scientifically debunked concerns that the shots are dangerous.

The 285 cases in the city in the current outbreak compare to just two cases in all of 2017. Most of the victims have been children, and 21 have been hospitalized, with five sent to intensive care. The highly contagious disease can cause serious complications.

The outbreak began with an unvaccinated child who got measles while traveling to Israel, which is also battling a large outbreak. Though the city has given out thousands of vaccines, there are still an estimated 1,800 unvaccinated children in the Williamsburg neighborhood and the disease has continued to spread.

“We have a situation now where children are in danger,” De Blasio said. “It was time to take a more muscular approach.”

The city plans to enforce the mandatory vaccine order by tracing the contacts of people who come down with measles. If residents who have been exposed are not vaccinated, health officials will try to get them the shot within three days, which can protect them from contracting the disease.

Those who refuse will not be forcibly vaccinated, but will be hit with the $1,000 fine, authorities said.

The outbreak has spread in the tightknit Orthodox community, which tends to have lower vaccination rates even though nothing in Jewish religious doctrine opposes vaccines. Top rabbis and other community leaders have strongly urged people to get vaccinated.

But anti-vaccination activists have targeted the community, where many people are isolated from secular institutions, with mailers and hotlines opposing vaccines.

“You’re talking about a very small band of people,” said Gary Schlesinger, the CEO of ParCare community health network. “I would call them a jihadi group of people. It will be very hard to change their minds. Unfortunately they are the root of the problem.”

Schlesinger said he supported the city’s order. “Every responsible leader, every responsible rabbi has declared you have to get vaccinated,” he said. “There is no religious exemption. That is a lie that these anti-vaxxers are spreading around.”

But outside the Williamsburg library where city officials spoke, a small group of mothers said they would never vaccinate their kids, even if they have to pay a fine.

Gitty, 28, said her five children have all had measles in recent months and recovered. “My children are more important to me than any money in the world,” she said.

“This is my personal religious belief,” said Gitty, who declined to give her last name. “God has created a perfect design. My kids were born beautiful, healthy and perfect and I want to keep them that way.”

Her friend Esther, 25, said her three kids have also had measles. “The rabbis that are recommending vaccines have heard one side only,” she said. “We are pushed out of rooms. We are thrown out of meetings.”

City officials said they have even heard reports of so-called “measles parties”, where parents deliberately expose their kids to the disease. Once children have measles and recover, they are immune and therefore allowed to go to school.

“Exposing your unvaccinated child to measles is very dangerous and can even be deadly,” said deputy mayor Herminia Palacio.

The mandatory vaccine order applies to both children and adults in Williamsburg.

The health department also issued new orders to all yeshivas in Williamsburg that they must keep unvaccinated children out of school, or face fines or possible closure.

An outbreak north of the city in Rockland county led to the authorities banning unvaccinated children from indoor public spaces last month. But a judge blocked the order on Friday.

Nationwide, there have been 465 measles cases confirmed so far in 2019, the Centers for Disease Control said.