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The city of New York threatened Monday to commit health violations against yeshivas in a Jewish Orthodox section of Brooklyn if they did not exclude all unvaccinated students.
The warning came amidst a measles epidemic in the Orthodox Jewish community. There have been 285 cases since October, the city's health department said in a press release.
"Any non-compliant school will be immediately assigned a violation," reads the statement.
The vast majority of cases – 246 of them – are children, the department said.
"Most cases of measles were unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated," the department added. "There were no deaths associated with this outbreak, although there were complications, including 21 hospitalizations and five admissions to the intensive care unit."
Measles cases increased last week, many cases being related to an unvaccinated child who contracted measles during a visit to Israel. The Orthodox Jewish community has been particularly skeptical about the value of vaccines.
New York City Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot urged all New Yorkers to be vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) to prevent further spread of the epidemic .
"This epidemic is fueled by a small group of anti-vaxxers in these neighborhoods. They spread false false information based on false scientific data, "said Barbot. "We stand with the majority of this community who have worked hard to protect their children and those at risk."
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