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New York Post

Mayor de Blasio on Tuesday declared a public health emergency in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn to stem an outbreak of measles.

As part of the emergency order, unvaccinated individuals living in selected ZIP codes in the heavily Orthodox Jewish community who may have been exposed to measles will be required to receive the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine to help curtail the ongoing outbreak.

“We don’t take these steps lightly,” de Blasio said of the mandatory edict to get vaccinated. “It’s time to protect your family and your community.”

Those who have not received the measles vaccine — or do not have evidence of immunity — could be slapped with a violation and fined $1,000.

Under mandatory vaccinations, members of the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will check the vaccination records of any individual who may have been in contact with infected patients.

“There’s no question that vaccines are safe, effective and life-saving,” de Blasio said. “I urge everyone, especially those in affected areas, to get their MMR vaccines to protect their children, families and communities.”

To date, 285 cases have been confirmed since the beginning of the outbreak in October, with many of these new cases being confirmed in the last two months.

The vast majority of cases are children under the age of 18 — 246 cases — and 39 cases involve adults.

There have been no deaths associated with this outbreak, although there have been complications, including 21 hospitalizations and five admissions to the intensive care unit.

In 2017, there were two measles cases in the city, the mayor said.

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