--- title: New York City May Shut Down Yeshivas That Allow Unvaccinated Kids at School description: New York City threatened to fine or shut down certain Brooklyn yeshivas that allow kids unvaccinated against measles to attend school. canonical: https://time.com/5541872/brooklyn-measles-outbreak/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-03-01T17:25:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T00:41:42.000Z article:section: Health og:title: New York City May Shut Down Certain Yeshivas That Allow Unvaccinated Children to Attend School og:description: The city's measles outbreak is spreading og:url: https://time.com/5541872/brooklyn-measles-outbreak/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta3a2bbe0f6f99a67/6989461397cdff85a66b76dc/measles-vaccine.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Pediatric Vaccination og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: New York City May Shut Down Certain Yeshivas That Allow Unvaccinated Children to Attend School twitter:description: The city's measles outbreak is spreading twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta3a2bbe0f6f99a67/6989461397cdff85a66b76dc/measles-vaccine.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # New York City Could Shut Down Certain Yeshivas That Allow Unvaccinated Children to Attend School > Sponsored content. 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Updated: Dec 13, 2023 12:41 AM UTCPublished: Mar 1, 2019 5:25 PM UTC New York City health officials are threatening to fine or shut down certain Brooklyn yeshivas that allow unvaccinated children to attend school, as a measles outbreak continues to spread within the city’s Orthodox Jewish community. In December, the Health Department ordered yeshivas and childcare centers in parts of Brooklyn’s Borough Park and Williamsburg neighborhoods to keep children home from school if they had not received the full course of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. But at least one yeshiva, Yeshiva Kehilath Yakov in Williamsburg, broke the city’s mandate in January and allowed an unvaccinated, but asymptomatic, student to return to school. The student turned out to have measles, resulting in more than 40 cases connected to this yeshiva alone, according to health officials. On Tuesday, [the Health Department announced](https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/about/press/pr2019/commissioner-orders-all-yeshivas-to-exclude-unvaccinated-students.page) that Williamsburg yeshivas that do not follow the exclusion order will “immediately be issued a violation,” and could face fines or possible closure. Almost 300 people in New York City have contracted measles since the city’s outbreak began in October, according to health officials. The vast majority of cases have affected children, particularly in Borough Park and Williamsburg. The outbreak’s initial case was acquired when a person visited Israel, where a measles outbreak is in progress, according to health officials. “This outbreak is being fueled by a small group of anti-vaxxers in these neighborhoods. They have been spreading dangerous misinformation based on fake science,” Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot said in the new statement. “We stand with the majority of people in this community who have worked hard to protect their children and those at risk. We’ve seen a large increase in the number of people vaccinated in these neighborhoods, but as Passover approaches, we need to do all we can to ensure more people get the vaccine.” Measles is a viral infection that causes symptoms including fever, runny nose, cough and a rash that affects the face and body. In severe cases, measles complications can include pneumonia, brain swelling and death. It’s highly contagious and is spread through the air. No one has died from New York City’s measles outbreak, through 21 people have been hospitalized, according to city officials. Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, but the disease is having a resurgence in several parts of the country — particularly in areas where [vaccine resistance is common](http://time.com/5534592/fda-commissioner-federal-government-vaccine-policies/), including [some pockets of the Pacific Northwest](http://time.com/5524505/measles-washington-vaccination/). So far this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [has confirmed 465 cases](http://time.com/5566055/2019-measles-case-count/) of measles, already the second-highest number since 2000. Communities experiencing outbreaks are taking increasingly dramatic measures to stop transmission of the disease. In Rockland County, N.Y., for one, officials banned unvaccinated children from visiting public places, until [a judge halted the order](http://time.com/5558943/rockland-county-measles-emergency/) last week. ## Transcript [00:00] I'm Jeffrey Kluger, editor at large, for TIME magazine and [00:04] I'm here to argue the hard truth that vaccines are safe, [00:09] effective, and save lives, full stop. [ MUSIC ] [00:15] There are people who disagree with those facts, who [00:18] believe that vaccines are unsafe. Unnecessary and that [00:22] their dangers are being covered up by a conspiracy of [00:26] silence between the pharmaceutical industry and the [00:29] government. Non of these, not a syllable [00:33] of it is true, here is why. First of all, it [00:38] bears repeating. Vaccines do not cause autism. [00:42] They never have, they never will. That initial misconception [00:47] was traced to a fraudulent 1998 study [00:52] by British doctor Andrew Wakefield. The study as later [00:56] retracted and Wakefield was stripped of his license to [01:00] practice medicine in the UK. It is true that autism [01:04] rates have risen in recent decades, but that's not because [01:08] more children are developing the condition It's simply [01:12] because we're diagnosing it better, more sensitively [01:16] and more liberally. vaccines like all drugs [01:20] have potential side effects. And as with all drugs, nobody is [01:24] hiding those side effects. The centers for disease control [01:28] lists all possible side effects of all possible vaccines [01:33] readily on it's web site. Most of those side effects are minor. [01:38] The few that aren't are so rare that it's not even possible [01:42] to link them conclusively to the vaccines. One [01:46] other thing no one's hiding are the ingredients in vaccines. [01:51] All of the package inserts for all vaccines are also [01:56] readily available online. If you read the packaging search [02:00] you will see that yes vaccines are stuffed with chemicals. [02:05] All medications are stuffed with chemicals all foods are [02:08] made of chemicals. You and I are made of chemicals. [02:12] Chemicals are essential for life. They do not have to [02:17] be bad. If generations of medical history have taught us [02:21] anything, it's that vaccinating children does not lead [02:25] to illness and death. It's not vaccinating children [02:29] that does that. Parents who opt out of vaccines do [02:34] it out of love. Do it because they think that's [02:38] the best way to protect their children. But that protection [02:42] comes from vaccinating, not from opting out of [02:46] vaccines. 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