New York is in the midst of one of the state’s largest measles outbreak in recent history as health officials work tirelessly to prevent it from becoming a full-on epidemic. At one local pediatric clinic, NBC reports that babies are on an “accelerated measles vaccination schedule, getting their first shots six months early and their second dose right away.”
So far, the news agency reports that 167 confirmed cases of the virus have been documented since September in what is now the worst outbreak since the 1990s.
"I would say this is the largest measles outbreak that New York state has had in recent history," New York’s State Commissioner of Health Howard Zucker told CNN.
"If you go back many decades ago when we weren't vaccinating, of course, there were probably more outbreaks, but in my memory, I don't know of a measles outbreak that was this significant," he continued. "We have immunized 13,000 children since this outbreak has begun."
According to a statement released by New York Department of Health earlier this week, the outbreak can be traced back to an initial unvaccinated child who contracted measles while on a visit to Israel, which has been experiencing an outbreak for several months. At least 55 cases of measles have been confirmed in Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jewish community alone.
“The increase in measles cases in Orthodox Jewish communities of Brooklyn demonstrates the importance of getting children vaccinated on time to prevent measles and not put other children at risk,” said then Acting Health Commissioner Dr Oxiris Barbot at the time.
Officials attribute the spread to a combination of anti-vaccination propaganda, lax enforcement by schools, and a growing trend for alternative healthcare. (The Orthodox Union and the Rabbinical Council of America strongly urge all parents to vaccinate their children in line with pediatric recommendations.)