Measles outbreak in New York county leads to officials banning unvaccinated kids from public places

MMR vaccines.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

A state of emergency has been declared in New York's Rockland County due to a measles outbreak, and starting at midnight on Wednesday, unvaccinated children will be prohibited from public spaces for 30 days.

This applies to anyone 18 and under who is not vaccinated; if a child receives an MMR vaccination, they will no longer be under the ban. While authorities will not stop children to ask if they are vaccinated, parents will be held accountable if found in violation of the declaration, with their cases referred to the district attorney, ABC 7 New York reports. Rockland County has a large Orthodox Jewish community, but there is no religious exemption to the ban; health officials said local rabbis have been encouraging their members to get vaccinated.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.