New York (AFP) – New York Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a public health emergency across part of Brooklyn on Tuesday, ordering all residents receive the measles vaccine in a bid to contain an outbreak of the disease.
The order concerns all people residing or working in four zipcodes of Williamsburg, northwest Brooklyn, an area with a high ultra-Orthodox Jewish population where many oppose vaccines on religious grounds.
“Those who have not received the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine or do not have evidence of immunity may be given a violation and could be fined $1,000,” said a statement from the mayor’s office.
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