Brooklyn parents suing to end mandatory measles vaccinations

A group of parents in Brooklyn are seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent mandatory measles vaccinations from taking effect.

The parents' lawsuit against the New York City health department called the emergency decision "arbitrary and capricious" and the measures it requires "drastic".

The ordinance, issued last week by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, requires the vaccination of all 6-month-olds who live, work or go to school according to the specified postal codes. from Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The parents who filed a lawsuit said "that there was not enough evidence of a measles epidemic or a dangerous epidemic to justify" forced vaccinations and they accused the city of failing to take the least restrictive measures to end the epidemic.

The lawsuit was brought by five mothers on behalf of themselves and their minor children. They are listed as living in Williamsburg and Clinton Hill, parts of Brooklyn included in the mandatory vaccinations.

In declaring a public health emergency, Mr de Blasio described measles as a "very serious situation" and underlined the "danger of this disease and how highly infectious it is".

The postcodes involved are heavily populated by Orthodox Jews and the mayor has sought to vaccinate everyone before people go to Passover, which begins Friday.

"For it to be a good holiday, we have to make sure that people are protected," de Blasio said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 285 cases of measles were confirmed in Brooklyn and Queens from October 2018 to April 8, 2019.

The CDC states that most of the confirmed cases involved members of the Orthodox Jewish community and that the first case came from an unvaccinated child who had been infected during a trip to Israel.

New York is one of 20 states where measles cases were confirmed in 2019. Between 1 January 2019 and 11 April, 555 cases of measles were confirmed in the United States.