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| A school bus on April 9, 2019 in a Jewish quarter of Williamsburg, Brooklyn -- where New York Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a public health emergency over an outbreak of measles (AFP Photo/Johannes EISELE) |
New York (AFP) - New York's mayor declared a public health emergency in parts of Brooklyn on Tuesday, ordering all residents to be vaccinated to fight a measles outbreak concentrated in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.
The order
concerns all people living or working in four zip codes of Williamsburg,
northwest Brooklyn, where some residents oppose vaccines on religious grounds
-- although neither Jewish texts nor local Jewish authorities advise against
vaccination.
"It
was time to take a more muscular approach," de Mayor Bill de Blasio told a
news conference as the emergency measures were announced.
"This
can be turned around quickly," he said. "We can stop this."
Under the
new rules, anyone who has not received the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine
or does not have evidence of immunity risks a fine of $1,000.
The city
also warned that yeshiva religious schools and day care programs serving the
local Orthodox Jewish community would face penalties and possible closure if
they keep taking in students who are not vaccinated against measles, which can
cause severe diarrhea, pneumonia and vision loss and can potentially be fatal.
 |
New York
authorities warned that yeshiva religious schools and day care programs
serving
the Williamsburg Orthodox Jewish community would face penalties and
possible
closure if they continue to take in unvaccinated students (AFP Photo/
Johannes
EISELE)
|
Like all
but three American states, New York requires a series of vaccinations for
school-age children but has until now granted exemptions on both medical and
religious grounds.
Since
October, however, 285 cases of measles have been confirmed in New York City,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). None proved
fatal, but 21 patients required hospitalization and five were admitted to
intensive care.
"I
urge everyone, especially those in affected areas, to get their MMR vaccines to
protect their children, families and communities," de Blasio said in a
statement.
'Safe,
effective and life-saving'
"There's
no question that vaccines are safe, effective and life-saving."
That
message was echoed by Dr Herminia Palacio, deputy mayor of health and human
services.
"When
you make the decision not to vaccinate your child, please understand you're
also making that decision for the people around your child," warned
Palacio, who said her services had received reports of so-called "measles
parties" held to purposely expose children to the disease.
 |
New York
Mayor Bill de Blasio said it was time for "a more muscular approach"
to
the resurgence of measles in parts of the city (AFP Photo/Jim WATSON)
|
Although
measles was declared officially eliminated from the United States in 2000, a
total of 465 cases have been confirmed in 19 states from January 1 to April 4,
according to the CDC.
"This
is the second-greatest number of cases reported in the US since measles was
eliminated in 2000," it said.
The highest
figure -- 667 -- occurred in 2014.
The
resurgence of the once-eradicated, highly-contagious disease is linked to a
growing anti-vaccine movement in richer nations -- which the World Health
Organization has identified as a major global health threat.
Most of the
New York cases involved unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated individuals,
according to de Blasio's office.
The
so-called anti-vax, or anti-vaxxer phenomenon has adherents across Western nations
but is particularly high profile in the US, where it has been fueled by
medically baseless claims spread on social media.
 |
Although
measles was declared officially eliminated from the United States in 2000,
cases have been confirmed in 19 US states this year, according to the Centers
for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (AFP Photo/Johannes EISELE)
|
Rockland
County, located near New York City, has also declared a 30-day public health
emergency over a measles outbreak there that has seen 168 people contract the
disease, according to the CDC.
Non-vaccinated
minors in the county were banned from public places in a bid to prevent the
spread of the disease, and hundreds of people have now been vaccinated,
according to authorities.
Patricia
Schnabel Ruppert, the health commissioner there, said that since October she
has been waging an uphill fight to persuade people vaccines are safe and
necessary to protect the larger community.
Among her
daily battles: having to constantly repeat that the vaccine does not cause
other diseases, that it does not lead to autism, and that the practice of using
fetal tissue to produce the vaccine ended decades ago.
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Question (2003): Dear Kryon, I have a new grandson. He's going for his first vaccination in the next few weeks. If we're beginning to transmute toxins with reconnections to our endocrine system through our DNA, then what happens to our babies, who by law have to be vaccinated? What are your thoughts on this subject?
Answer: First, know that vaccinations are a God-given science that humanity earned. They're a tried and proven homeopathic method that have been with you for years. You were probably vaccinated yourself, and it worked.
We have three answers: (1) God is not in a vacuum. Even the vaccinated Human Being who's older can modify and rework their DNA. So there's no time limit, and there are no rules that say "Once vaccinated, you're ruined." (2) The Human who is of the age of awareness can say, even as they are vaccinated, "Let nothing inappropriate enter my chemistry." This is a conscious instruction given to your "intelligent cellular structure" (the same one responsible for kinesiology and homeopathic results). This will result in your cells only using what they need and casting away everything else. (3) Finally, about babies: There has been a push by your science lately to vaccinate against many things at the same time. You'd be advised to seek out a doctor who will only vaccinate your child for only the basic diseases that have been known in the last 40 years. Eliminate the vaccinations for the new ones. This leaves you with approximately seven or eight - the very ones that have been used for years. What your science is not appreciating yet is the results of combining all the vaccination substances together. There's a problem that will show itself in time. Stick with the basic ones.
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