New York's Most Severe Outbreak of Measles in Decades

New York is currently facing its most severe outbreak of measles in decades. The disease disproportionately affects the ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities of New York, where infected people from Israel and Europe had entered throughout last fall. Interestingly, the insular nature of ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods enables the virus to spread within them, while also protecting people outside the communities, as infected individuals largely remain within the same areas of schools, shops, and restaurants. As 182 cases have been confirmed by last Thursday (1/17), alarmed health officials are attempting to systematically increase vaccination rates.

However, health officials have been facing challenges in halting the outbreak partially due to a common resistance to vaccinations by ultra-Orthodox people. In fact, some religious schools in these neighborhoods have had vaccination rates as low as 60%. This phenomenon may be connected to the broader anti-vaccination movement, which falsely claims that vaccines cause autism and other illnesses. It may also be shaped by cultural factors in the communities, as sociology professor Samuel Heilman maintains that there is a "fear of interference from the outside" stemming from the population's history in pre-World War II Europe.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/nyregion/measles-outbreak-jews-nyc.html


-- Caroline Aung