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A Brooklyn judge on Thursday confirmed a mandatory measles vaccination order. On the same day, the United Talmudical Academy, pictured here, reopened after being closed for non-compliance with an order of the Ministry of Health requiring it to provide medical records and attendance records in case of outbreak of measles.
Seth Wenig / AP
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Seth Wenig / AP
A Brooklyn judge on Thursday confirmed a mandatory measles vaccination order. On the same day, the United Talmudical Academy, pictured here, reopened after being closed for non-compliance with an order of the Ministry of Health requiring it to provide medical records and attendance records in case of outbreak of measles.
Seth Wenig / AP
A Brooklyn judge sits on the side of New York City health officials to enforce a mandatory measles immunization order, dismissing a lawsuit filed by a group of parents who claimed the city had exceeded his powers.
Judge Lawrence Knipel on Thursday rejected the parents' request to lift the vaccination order imposed last week to stem a serious measles outbreak. "A firefighter does not need to get the informed consent of the homeowner before extinguishing the fire of a home," Knipel wrote in his decision cited by Gothamist. "Vaccination is known to extinguish the fire of contagion."
On the same day, the city announced the closure of four more schools and the launch of three civil assignments against parents who had failed to fulfill their mandate.
On Thursday, the New York Department of Health had recorded 359 cases of measles since the start of the outbreak in October, compared with 329 confirmed cases on Monday. The cases involve ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn.
A group of five parents had sued the city over mandatory vaccinations against measles, mumps and rubella, saying current epidemics do not warrant "drastic emergency measures" violating individual rights. The lawsuit argued that the epidemic was not a "clear and present danger to public health".
But the judge was not in agreement.
"The absolute truth is that these diagnoses represent the most significant increase in the incidence of measles in the United States for many years and that the Williamsburg section in Brooklyn is at its epicenter," he said. written. The Wall Street Journal reports.
Robert Krakow, the parents' lawyer, said his clients were disappointed and that they were discussing next steps, according to the Newspaper. He said that he was not surprised by the decision.
In a statement released Thursday, the city said it had identified three children exposed to measles but not vaccinated last Friday. Cases will go to a hearing, where parents will be fined $ 1,000 if the violations are confirmed, depending on the city. Parents who do not appear at the hearing or do not respond to the summons will be fined $ 2,000.
The city said its health authorities were working with community leaders to ensure schools comply with emergency mandates.
A preschool program at the United Talmudical Academy, which had been closed for violation of the city's ordinance requiring it to provide medical records and attendance registers, reopened on Thursday "under supervision of the Ministry of Health. Health, "announced the city.
"Because of the long incubation period of measles, we know that the epidemic will worsen before it improves," said Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot. in a press release released Thursday. "However, people who get vaccinated can turn the tide, especially before Passover, when families and communities come together."
Before the hearing, the city's health council had voted to extend the term until the end of the current epidemic. Barbot said Wednesday that 500 children aged one to five in Williamsburg had been vaccinated since the warrant was imposed, April 9, reports Gothamist.
"The purpose of this emergency ordinance is not to amend people," Barbot said. "It is important to highlight the urgency and importance of immunization and to recruit as many people as possible to get the message out that these vaccines are safe and effective."
According to city data, about 14% of children aged one to five in Williamsburg have still not been immunized, reports Gothamist.
In Washington State, which also experienced a measles outbreak this year, Senate legislators passed a bill Wednesday that removes the exemption from personal beliefs related to MMR vaccination, as reported Laurel Wamsley of NPR. The bill, which should become law, leaves intact the medical and religious exemptions.
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