New York Ends Religious Exemptions for Required Vaccines

Update - April 22, 2019:

• New York will no longer allow vaccination exemptions based on religious beliefs.
• Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed a bill to end the practice amidst the worst measles outbreak in decades. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated this year's nationwide measles count to over 1,000—the highest in 27 years.
• "The science is crystal clear: Vaccines are safe, effective and the best way to keep our children safe," Cuomo said after signing the bill.

"While I understand and respect freedom of religion, our first job is to protect the public health and by signing this measure into law, we will help prevent further transmissions and stop this outbreak right in its tracks."

• New York state Sen. John Liu (D-Queens) told NPR that while he agrees with the idea of removing religious exemptions, he's been contacted by constituents who hold "deep and sincere" religious beliefs who are "absolutely outraged that anyone would suggest that they don't care about the health of their children." 
• Religious exemptions for vaccines exist in some form in most states. Only California, Mississippi, and Arizona have laws banning exemptions on religious grounds.

Countable's earlier updates appear below.

Update - April 22, 2019:

• A judge in Brooklyn has upheld a mandatory measles vaccination order, ruling against a group of parents who had argued New York City health officials had overstepped their authority.

“A fireman need not obtain the informed consent of the owner before extinguishing a house fire,” Judge Lawrence Knipel wrote in his ruling. “Vaccination is known to extinguish the fire of contagion.”

• Knipel denied the parents' petition seeking to lift Mayor Bill de Blasio's vaccination order that hoped to stem the city's worst measles outbreak since 1991. Residents of certain Brooklyn neighborhoods who refuse to obtain the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine could face fines.
• Robert Krakow, an attorney for the parents, estimated that only about 0.0006 percent of the population of Brooklyn and Queens had measles. “That’s not an epidemic,” he said. “It’s not Ebola. It’s not smallpox.”
• "We're disappointed," Krakow said of the ruling, adding that his clients are considering their legal options.
• The city has also announced it's closing four additional schools and issuing three civil summons for parents who have failed to comply with the MMR mandate.

Countable's earlier updates appear below.

Update - April 17, 2019:

• Five unnamed mothers are suing the city of New York seeking to block an order requiring people who live, work, or reside in four Brooklyn zip codes to be vaccinated with the Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine.
• In the lawsuit, the mothers claim “there is insufficient evidence of a measles epidemic or dangerous outbreak” and the city's orders are "arbitrary and capricious."
• However, just as the parents filed their lawsuit, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated this year's nationwide measles count, reporting 555 confirmed cases confirmed in 20 states. New York City has seen 285 confirmed cases since September, when the current measles outbreak began.
• Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the vaccination order earlier this month, saying the city would issue violations and possible fines of $1,000 for people who don’t comply.

“This is the epicenter of a measles outbreak that is very, very troubling and must be dealt with immediately. The measles vaccine works. It is safe, it is effective, it is time-tested,” de Blasio said.

• Attorney Robert Krakow, who represents the plaintiffs, told the New York Law Journal that one of the families involved felt pressured to vaccinate their children over fears of the $1000 fine.

“That’s compulsion, and that’s equivalent to force. The city should not be doing that," Krakow said.

Countable's original story appears below.

What’s the story?

• New York City has declared a public health emergency, ordering all people who live, work, or reside in four Brooklyn zip codes to be vaccinated with the Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine.
• Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the order amid a spike in measles infections in New York City, which has seen 285 confirmed cases since September, when the outbreak began.
• The mayor said the city would issue violations and possibly fines of $1,000 for people who don’t comply.
• While scientific evidence shows that vaccines are safe and effective, 18 states currently allow parents to opt-out of vaccinating their children for “philosophical reasons.”

What are people saying?

• “This is the epicenter of a measles outbreak that is very, very troubling and must be dealt with immediately,” de Blasio said at a news conference in Williamsburg, adding:

“The measles vaccine works. It is safe, it is effective, it is time-tested.”

• Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Herminia Palacio urged parents to get their children vaccinated and warned against “measles parties.”

“We have also heard reports of people attending so-called measles parties, bringing children together to purposely get exposed to measles,” said Palacio. “As a parent, I have no doubt that each and every parent is making decisions based out of what they believe is best for their children. But as a doctor, a public health practitioner, and a mom, I must warn you that exposing your unvaccinated child to measles is very dangerous, and it could even be deadly.”

• This measles outbreak is centered in ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn, whose residents choose not to vaccinate saying it violates their core religious beliefs.
• “I don’t think it’s up to the city to mandate anything. We all have constitutional rights,” a woman who only identified herself by Gitty told the New York Times. She refused to provide her surname for fear of being harassed for her anti-vaccination stance.
• Gitty told the Times that her five children would never be vaccinated, a practice she called “a medical procedure by force.”

“We are marginalized,” she said. “Every minority that has a different opinion is marginalized.”

• Children's Health Defense (CHD), and anti-vaxx group, is supporting a legal challenge to de Blasio’s order.

What do you think?

Do you support mandatory measles vaccinations? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / South_agency)