AllTop Viral!

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has declared a public emergency in parts of Brooklyn experiencing a measles outbreak. The declaration requires that unvaccinated peoples get vaccines or pay fines. The outbreak is most heavily effecting the Orthodox Jewish community Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. So far, 21 people have been hospitalized, five of whom are in intensive care. Of the 285 total cases, all but 39 are children.

New York lawmakers have also suggested a bill that ends religious vaccine exemptions amidst a measles outbreak. State Sen. David Carlucci has said, “The goal here is to push legislation to remove all non-medical exemptions for vaccination for children to go to school in New York state. We’ve seen the spread of measles really spread like wildfire in communities where the vaccination rates are not high.” A group of Democratic lawmakers support the bill, which aims to close what’s called the “personal belief loophole.” Lawmakers assert that no major religions prohibit vaccinations, but instead that the decision to opt out of a vaccine is based on individuals’ personal beliefs.

There have been a total of 87 individual, confirmed cases of measles in 15 states from January 1 to March 28, making this current outbreak  streak the second highest. 

More health.