Parents Fight Measles Outbreak Rules In Rockland, Brooklyn

The measles outbreaks in Rockland County and New York City are continuing. And parents in both communities are fighting public health officials' orders to keep unvaccinated children home from school — in the former a group is suing and in the latter many parents are breaking the rules.

Rockland's measles outbreak expanded faster at the end of 2018. But Rockland has just hit 147 confirmed cases this week as NYC outpaced it with 158.

One of the reasons for the expanding outbreak in NYC is that several private schools serving the Ultra-Orthodox community have allowed unvaccinated children to attend.

Tiferes Bnos, Simche Kinder and Bnos Square of Williamsburg are the latest to have been found flouting the Health Department , officials said Thursday.

The three Bed-Stuy schools are among six yeshivas found to be disobeying the ordinance directive meant to curtail the highly infectious and potentially fatal virus that erupted in the Orthodox Jewish community in October, according to city officials.

Three of the schools allowed contagious students to attend classes, officials said.

"As the city's doctor, and a pediatrician, I am very concerned that children without the measles vaccination, are at unnecessary risk for serious, and potentially fatal, symptoms related to measles," said Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot.

The penalty is $2,000-per-day for every unvaccinated child allowed to attend school during the outbreak, a city Health Department spokesperson said.

In Rockland, parents at the Green Meadow Waldorf School asked a judge to modify the order requiring them to keep unvaccinated children home while the outbreak continues.

Lawyer Michael Sussman, who is representing the parents, was in U.S. District Court Tuesday seeking the injunction for the children, who've been out of school for five months during the unprecedented outbreak. Judge Vincent Briccetti ruled the plaintiffs hadn't shown that the public interest was best served by an injunction.

Sussman is arguing that that state law about communicable diseases does not allow for exclusions of students unless there is an outbreak at the specific school they attend. Rockland's order affects all schools located in two zip codes where the student vaccination rate is below 95 percent.

SEE:

• Rockland Resets Outbreak Clock: New Measles Case
• Judge Won't Issue Injunction For Rockland Anti-Vaxxers
• School Parents Sue Rockland Over Measles Restrictions