W'burg Yeshivas Could Be Closed Down For Flouting Vaccine Rules

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — The city's health officials are upping the stakes for local yeshivas that are sending unvaccinated children to school despite orders to keep them at home during the measles outbreak, which has infected almost 300 people in the borough.

The Health Department announced on Monday that it was issued "Commissioner's Orders" to all yeshivas in Williamsburg that are under an a previous mandate to not let unvaccinated children return to school during the outbreak. The new orders mean that yeshivas found not following the mandate will immediately be issued a violation and could face fines or school closure, officials said.

The outbreak, which started in October in the borough's Orthodox Jewish communities, has nearly doubled in the past month.

“This outbreak is being fueled by a small group of anti-vaxxers in these neighborhoods," said Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot. “They have been spreading dangerous misinformation based on fake science."

The order comes after at least six Brooklyn schools, three in Williamsburg and three in Bed-stuy, were found not to be following the mandates earlier this year. One of the Williamsburg yeshivas is connected to more than 40 cases in the outbreak.

Just a few weeks ago, the outbreak had infected 158 people. As of this week, the number rose to 285, 246 of which are in children under 18 years old.

The schools that previously didn't follow the mandate have not yet been issued violations, a health department official said. The yeshiva connected to more than 40 cases, Yeshiva Kehilath Yakov Pupa, was issued its own "Commissioner's Order" at the time officials realized it had sent an unvaccinated child to school, but was not given a violation since it returned to compliance.

But now, should any yeshiva be found to not be following the rules, it will immediately be given a violation and taken to the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, the spokesman said.

The order is meant to ensure a trend of more people in the community getting the vaccine continues, Barbot said.

"We stand with the majority of people in this community who have worked hard to protect their children and those at risk," she said. "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.”

Most of the measles cases so far were found in unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated people. So far nobody in Brooklyn has died from the disease, but 21 have been hospitalized and five were sent to the intensive care unit, the department said.

The measles outbreak has also spread in Rockland County and other places across the country and has been linked to trips to Israel, which is currently suffering from a large outbreak, as well as the U.K. and the Ukraine.