New York City Board of Directors Continues Mandatory Measles Vaccination in North Brooklyn: Gothamist



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041719measles.jpg "src =" http://gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_arts_john/041719measles.jpg "width =" 640 "height =" 465 "/> <br /> <i>    (Seth Wenig / AP / Shutterstock)</i></div>
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<p>The New York City Health Council voted unanimously to maintain public order announced last week by the Department of Health, which states that everyone on four Williamsburg and Bedford-Stuyvesant postal codes must be vaccinated against measles. The board also extended the order indefinitely until the end of the current outbreak.</p>
<p>Although no one has yet been fined $ 1,000 for refusing to comply with this ruling, Public Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot said the mandatory vaccination order was producing already the desired effect. About 500 children aged one to five in Williamsburg were vaccinated against measles last week, she said.</p>
<p>"The purpose of this emergency ordinance is not to put fines on people," said Barbot. "It's about emphasizing the urgency and importance of immunization and the number of people who can deliver the message that these vaccines are safe and effective."</p>
<p>Despite this slight increase in the number of vaccinations, the city's health department estimates that approximately 14% of Williamsburg toddlers aged one to five, for a total of 3,350 children, have still not been vaccinated. vaccinated, according to data from the city's vaccination registry.</p>
<p>In October, 329 cases of measles had been confirmed in New York, the majority in Williamsburg. Twenty-five people had to be hospitalized and six of them were admitted to intensive care units.</p>
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powerpoint1.jpg "src =" http://gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_neil_demause/powerpoint1.jpg "width =" 640 "height =" 337 "/> <br /> <i>    (Department of Health and Mental Hygiene of New York City)</i></div>
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<p>Deputy Health Commissioner, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, informed the Health Council on Wednesday of some of the obstacles faced by the department as it tried to control the six-month-old epidemic.</p>
<p>"We are working against a lot of things," said Daskalakis. "The parents chose not to seek medical care from infected children. The parties responsible for measles intentionally expose children to the virus and spread misinformation, including from some pediatricians. "</p>
<p>Parents of five parents of unvaccinated children whose names have not been named filed a lawsuit because of the city's immunization mandate, and both parties are scheduled to appear Thursday in court.</p>
<p>Ministry of Health officials have noted a recent outbreak of measles cases. In January, an unvaccinated child who had measles but had no symptoms went to school at Yeshiva Keliath Yakov and exposed to the virus of other unvaccinated children, which caused more than 41 new case of measles. Since then, the number of infections has increased, although there were fewer new infections last week than in previous weeks.</p>
<p>"[That] really [provided] the spark that provoked the incentive to escalate these numbers, "said Daskalakis.</p>
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powerpoint2.jpg "src =" http://gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_neil_demause/powerpoint2.jpg "width =" 640 "height =" 339 "/> <br /> <i>    (Department of Health and Mental Hygiene of New York City)</i></div>
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<p>Beyond the mandatory vaccination order, the city has strengthened the application of the requirement that yeshivas should exclude unvaccinated children, officials said. Ministry of Health officials found that 23 Williamsburg yeshivas were violating the order; Earlier this week, the city forced the closure of a day care program run by the United Talmudical Academy, which has 250 children, for failing to provide adequate vaccination records after repeated attempts to have access.</p>
<p>"Most people are not resolutely anti-vaccination forever and forever," said Malkey Rosin, a school nurse in a yeshiva, who works with a group of nurses to fight anti-anti-HIV propaganda. vaccination against the ultra-Orthodox community, which gave rise to fears. that vaccines cause autism, among other erroneous information. "Most people are just confused mothers, and they carry a tiny baby and are like, but why am I doing this?"</p>
<p><i>Gwynne Hogan is an associate producer at WNYC. You can follow her on Twitter at <a href=@GwynneFitz.

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