--- 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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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators.  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Updated: Dec 13, 2023 12:41 AM UTCPublished: Mar 1, 2019 5:25 PM UTC  A single dose of MMR for measles, mumps and rubella. A single dose of MMR for measles, mumps and rubella. Joe Amon—Denver Post/Getty Images  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. 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. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5541872/brooklyn-measles-outbreak/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5541872/brooklyn-measles-outbreak/"},"headline":"New York City Could Shut Down Certain Yeshivas That Allow Unvaccinated Children to Attend School","datePublished":"2019-03-01T17:25:16.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T00:41:42.000Z","description":"The city's measles outbreak is spreading","url":"https://time.com/5541872/brooklyn-measles-outbreak/","keywords":["Public Health","onetime","healthytime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta3a2bbe0f6f99a67/6989461397cdff85a66b76dc/measles-vaccine.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta3a2bbe0f6f99a67/6989461397cdff85a66b76dc/measles-vaccine.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pediatric Vaccination","caption":"Pediatric Vaccination","creditText":"Joe Amon—Denver Post/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5541872/brooklyn-measles-outbreak/","name":"New York City Could Shut Down Certain Yeshivas That Allow Unvaccinated Children to Attend School"}}]}] ```