Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Wednesday 10 april 2019

NYC orders mandatory vaccines for some amid measles outbreak

centage of kids under 2
who haven't gotten their
shots is growing, according
to the Centers for Disease
Control. The CDC attributes
the trend partly to lack of
health insurance.
But some experts also point
to an "anti-vax" viewpoint
that has gained some trac-
tion in recent years, helped
by social media.
"I think it's a sign of the im-
pact of vaccine denial-
ism, where we're now in a
place where cities feel like
they need to up the ante"
with vaccination orders,
says Scott Burris, a pub-
lic health law professor at
Temple University's Beasley
School of Law.
In Brooklyn and Rockland
County, anti-vaccination
advocates have been cir-
culating a 40-page booklet
A woman, right, who identified herself as Ester, passes a group of boys, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in the Williamsburg section of Brook-
lyn, New York. around Orthodox Jewish
Associated Press enclaves. It lays out nu-
merous anti-vaccine argu-
Associated Press officials said. They blamed Rockland County, north or risk being closed down. ments that have been de-
NEW YORK (AP) — Health the spike partly on anti-vac- of the city, has already The city believes an esti- bunked by scientific stud-
officials Tuesday ordered cine campaigns spreading faced legal action over its mated 1,800 children in the ies, such as a claim that
nearly everyone in a heav- misinformation that immu- efforts to contain measles: neighborhood hadn't been measles, mumps and ru-
ily Orthodox Jewish New nizations are dangerous. an emergency order that immunized as of Decem- bella vaccinations increase
York City neighborhood to News of the order got a would ban children from ber. the risk of autism.
be vaccinated for measles mixed reaction among public places unless they've At Yeshiva Kehilath Yakov "There is a very strong anti-
or face fines, reviving a Orthodox Jews in Williams- been immunized. A court school, Rabbi David Ober- vaccination propaganda
public-health strategy that burg, the Brooklyn neigh- halted it last week, but lander said administrators movement in these com-
experts say hasn't been borhood affected by the County Executive Ed Day took pains to make sure munities, and they're very
used in the U.S. in recent order. Some residents — said Tuesday he planned children with measles — effective," said Blima Mar-
memory. even those who support to appeal. some 20 cases in recent cus, a nurse practitioner
The emergency order vaccination — said they "If this is not an emergency, months — weren't in class. who lives in Brooklyn. She
came as the city, a subur- felt uncomfortable about what is?" asked Day, a Re- "We try to control our and fellow volunteers from
ban New York county and the city pushing inocula- publican. His county, which school, and we really strive the Orthodox Jewish Nurs-
some other parts of the na- tions on people who don't has sizeable Orthodox Jew- to comply 100% with the es Association have been
tion grapple with a spurt in want them. ish communities with close Department of Health," he holding workshops to reas-
a disease the U.S. declared Others remain convinced, ties to Brooklyn, has logged said. "But we don't control sure mothers that the vac-
eradicated almost two de- against expert assurances, 168 measles cases since the parents, and we don't cine is safe and effective.
cades ago. that vaccines are unsafe. last fall. intend to control the par- A query was sent to two
"This is an unusual action," "It's true that a lot of people He said Rockland officials ents." email addresses listed as
New York Mayor Bill de Bla- have measles, and measles are crafting a new order U.S. cities have fined resi- contacts in the booklet.
sio acknowledged, "and it's are not a very good thing, designed to isolate people dents before for not being Spread through coughs
because of the sheer ex- said resident Aron Braver, exposed to measles. vaccinated, but "not in our and sneezes, measles is
tent of the crisis." but he thinks the vaccine New York City's order ap- modern history," said Law- highly contagious and can
Meanwhile, the federal is "also not a very good plies to unvaccinated peo- rence Gostin, a George- cause serious health prob-
Centers for Disease Control thing." ple who live, work or go to town Law professor fo- lems, including pneumonia
and Prevention elevated "And it's everybody's option school in four ZIP codes, cused on public health law. and brain swelling that can
its response to measles, to do what he wants. What with some exceptions, The U.S. Supreme Court lead to seizures, deafness
establishing a larger team he decides," Braver added. such as for children under 6 upheld such an order in a or intellectual disability.
to focus on outbreaks that The New York Civil Liberties months old. 1905 case involving small- Deaths are rare in the U.S.,
have sickened 465 people Union also questioned the Officials said they would pox vaccinations in Cam- but measles killed 110,000
nationwide this year — the city's move. help people arrange to get bridge, Massachusetts. But people globally in 2017.
second-greatest number of Executive director Donna shots but were prepared over time, school-vaccina- The CDC recommends that
cases reported in the U.S. Lieberman called it "an ex- to fine them as much as tion requirements — which all children get two doses
since measles was eliminat- treme measure" that "rais- $1,000 if they refused. the high court upheld in of measles vaccine. It says
ed domestically in 2000. es civil liberties concerns The measure comes a day 1922 — became the cen- the vaccine is 97% effec-
The nation's biggest city is about forced medical after the city ordered Or- terpiece of public health tive.
in the midst of its biggest treatment." thodox Jewish schools and officials' strategies to fight The National Institutes of
measles outbreak since De Blasio, a Democrat, said day care programs in Wil- measles, mumps and other Health says reports of seri-
1991, with 285 cases diag- officials were confident the liamsburg to exclude un- communicable diseases. ous reactions to vaccines
nosed since last fall — com- order would withstand le- vaccinated students from Overall vaccination rates are rare: about one in ev-
pared to two in all of 2017, gal scrutiny. classes during the outbreak remain high, but the per- ery 100,000 vaccinations.q