Carlucci, Day Urge Passage Of Bills To Curb Measles Outbreak

Area lawmakers held a press conference Monday in Albany to address the importance of vaccines and to support legislation that would help combat the spread of measles in New York. Two bills — S.2994 and S.5136 — would end all non-medical vaccine exemptions and create a statewide vaccine awareness campaign that, lawmakers said, would combat false information about vaccines.

State Senator David Carlucci, D-Rockland/Westchester, said there is a crisis across the country with the outbreak of measles reaching the highest level of cases in 25 years.

"In Brooklyn and Rockland, we have a public health emergency with the number of measles cases rising," he said, "while inaccurate information continues to fuel anti-vaccine sentiment. If we follow the science, then we know vaccines save lives."

Carlucci said immediate action must be taken to end non-medical vaccine exemptions in the state and to focus on a long-term vaccine awareness campaign.

Currently, there are 202 confirmed cases of measles in Rockland County. As of April 24, there were 390 in Brooklyn and Queens.

Rockland's County Executive Ed Day and Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert traveled to Albany to urge lawmakers to end religious exemptions and urge the federal government to take action as well.

Day said the legislation should be passed in the state and around the country.

"As a state and a nation we need to address this now," he said. "Our federal government must take action nationally to increase vaccination rates.

"Either through congressional action or presidential executive order," Day said. "This needs to be done. Not tomorrow, not in a week, month or year. It must be done immediately. To do any less is both a disservice to and betrayal of the people of this country."

Ruppert said that California saw a 4.7 percent increase in vaccination rates in kindergarteners after personal belief exemptions were eliminated in 2015.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine for everyone over a year old, except for people who had the disease as children. People who have had the measles are immune, health officials said.

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