Measles Outbreak: New York Declares Health Emergency, Requires Vaccinations in Parts of Brooklyn

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New York City on Tuesday declared a public health emergency following a measles outbreak in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the city would require unvaccinated individuals living in select ZIP codes in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to receive the measles vaccine as the city escalated its efforts to stem one of the largest measles outbreaks in decades.

The mayor said that the city would issue violations and possibly fines for those who did not comply.

“This is the epicenter of a measles outbreak that is very, very troubling and must be dealt with immediately,” Mr. de Blasio said at a news conference in Williamsburg, adding, “The measles vaccine works. It is safe, it is effective, it is time-tested.”

The measure follows a spike in measles cases in New York City, where there have been 285 confirmed cases since the outbreak began in the fall; 21 of those cases led to hospitalizations, including five admissions to the intensive care unit. The majority of the cases have been concentrated in Hasidic communities in Williamsburg and Borough Park, Brooklyn.

Across the country, there have been 465 measles cases since the start of 2019, with 78 new cases in the last week alone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday.

In 2018, New York and New Jersey accounted for more than half of the measles cases in the country, and the continuing outbreak has led to unusual measures.

In Rockland County, N.Y., a northern suburb of New York City, county health officials last month barred unvaccinated children from public places for 30 days. However, last week a judge ruled against the order, temporarily halting it.

And in New York City, an emergency health order issued in December called on students who were not vaccinated against measles to be prohibited from attending classes in ultra-Orthodox schools in selected ZIP codes.

City officials conceded that the earlier order was not effective; Mr. de Blasio said on Tuesday that the city would fine or even temporarily shut down yeshivas that did not abide by the measure.

By Tyler Pager April 9, 2019