Mayor of New York Bill de Blasio declared a health emergency in Brooklyn during a press conference on April 9, addressing a measles outbreak. All people living within five listed zip codes are required to have the measles vaccine, or otherwise be fined.
De Blasio’s order has received mixed reactions from the Orthodox Jewish community. Outside of the Williamsburgh Library where the conference took place, Jewish people explained their concerns about the vaccine, saying that the order infringes on their religious rights.
“We don’t take any of this lightly,” said the mayor, above a slogan telling people not to wait to get vaccinated. “It’s an unusual action for us to take, but it is entirely related to both the danger of the disease and how highly contagious it is.”
NYC mayor orders mandatory measles vaccinations after Brooklyn outbreak https://t.co/2biGDG7mRA pic.twitter.com/tYEx2u0EOy
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) April 9, 2019
An unvaccinated child who caught measles in Israel erupted in an outbreak of the virus when he returned to the city, according to NYC Health. Close to 300 measles cases have been confirmed, with the infected mostly children from the Jewish community.
Forty cases came from one Jewish educational institution, or yeshiva. However, there have been yeshivas that do not exclude unvaccinated students from attending. De Blasio stated that schools who continue to do this may be temporarily shutdown.
“During ongoing investigations when the department identifies people who are unvaccinated, they will issue violations,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Herminia Palacio. “These resulting fines will be as much as $1,000 per person.”
We are in the midst of a #measles outbreak. People in violation of our order to get vaccinated against measles will get a violation and could be fined $1,000 per instance. pic.twitter.com/eKuE9Gpm22
— Commissioner Oxiris Barbot (@NYCHealthCommr) April 9, 2019
Religious Rights
Outside Williamsburgh Library, Esther, who wished to remain anonymous, said her rights as a mother and religious practitioner were being violated.
“It’s very disturbing that we are being fined for something that we have a perfect right to do, and not vaccinate our children,” she said. “And I think it’s unethical and completely ridiculous to fine people that feel that they are doing what’s best for their children.”
Outside mayor’s press conference on measles outbreak, this mom questioned the science of vaccines and called mandated vaccinations “unethical.” pic.twitter.com/XCghz6wM5q
— Yoav Gonen (@yoavgonen) April 9, 2019
Esther is a mother of three who has chosen not to vaccinate her children. She is not concerned with her children getting measles because they already had it once and recovered well, she explained. Interwoven with her motherhood is her faith in God.
“I believe that God created our bodies perfectly to be able to fight off these benign childhood diseases and we don’t need any interference with that—man-made artificial interference. I think God is perfect.”
De Blasio’s Mission
De Blasio emphasized that the mission of his order is not to find and fine the unvaccinated; rather, it is to get people vaccinated.
“If people will simply cooperate quickly, no one has to pay a fine if they’re doing the right thing,” said the mayor. “But if folks ignore this order, then they are subject to the fine.”
If people cannot afford the vaccination, officials said the city will cover the cost. They said those living in zip codes 11205, 11206, 11211, and 11249 now have to be vaccinated against measles.
Join me for an update on how we’re confronting the measles outbreak in Williamsburg. https://t.co/otgNpRYtlp
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) April 9, 2019
