Rockland measles ban, a questionable policy
A
measles outbreak in Rockland County has brought national attention to the area and led at least one Jewish community to charge that the focus on the Jewish community is unwarranted.
Aron Weider, a Rockland County legislator and chairman of the legislature’s public safety committee, admits there is a small minority of Jews living in the county, located about 35 miles north of New York City, who don’t vaccinate. But nothing near the rates that the county executive, Ed Day, charged last week.
Last Tuesday, Day cited New York State Immunization Information System statistics showing that just 72.9 percent of Rockland residents age 1 to 18 have been fully vaccinated against the measles. Day added that the “lion’s share” of 16,000 vaccinations administered since the outbreak started 26 weeks ago have been in New Square, New York, the home of the Skverer chassidus. Day issued an emergency order, banning any minor who has not been vaccinated from public places.
Since October, there have been 153 reported cases in the county, about half of all the reported cases nationally. This is the longest measles outbreak since 2000, when public health officials announced the disease had been eradicated from the United States.
Create a free account to keep reading.
