City Mayor Bill de Blasio announces mandatory vaccination for residents of the Williamsburg neighborhood and for those who have been in contact with the sick and are not protected.
NEW YORK. – (EFE). New York City on Tuesday declared a “public health emergency” due to the measles epidemic in the city since last October, specifically among Orthodox Jewish communities living in Brooklyn.
As part of that extraordinary measure, announced by the Mayor’s Office in a statement, unvaccinated residents of the Williamsburg neighborhood – where the city’s largest Jewish population is concentrated – will have to be immunized with measles inoculation to “protect the rest of the community and help reduce the epidemic.
285 cases have been reported in the city since October.
The injections will be mandatory and members of the Department of Health and Mental Health will review the immunization records of any individual who has been in contact with infected patients and, if not immunized, could face fines of up to $1,000.
The decision comes one day after the Department threatened to close some ‘Yeshivas’ (Jewish schools) or sanction them if they admit children who are not protected against the disease.
“There is no doubt that vaccines are safe, effective and save lives. I urge everyone, especially those in affected areas, to inoculate themselves to protect their children, families and communities,” said New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Although there have been no deaths associated with this disease, there have been complications, with 21 hospitalizations and 5 admissions to the intensive care unit, according to the authorities.
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