BY COLIN MIXSON
Educators at a Williamsburg
yeshiva allowed a virulent
measles outbreak to infect 21
new victims by letting an unvaccinated
child attend class
there, according to the city’s
chief physician, who urged
parents to inoculate their kids
against the potentially fatal
illness.
“As a pediatrician, I can’t
stress enough how critical it is
to vaccinate children against
measles,” said Department
of Health Commissioner Dr.
Oxiris Barbot. “Measles is a
serious, highly contagious,
and potentially deadly infection.
Complications and fatalities
are rare but do happen.”
Leaders of Wilson Street’s
Yeshiva Kehilath Yakov permitted
the unvaccinated
youngster to mingle with his
mates, even though the school
is subject to an emergencyhealth
measure that mandates
schools within certain parts
of Williamsburg and Borough
Park — where the measles
virus infected 121 people
since October — prohibit kids
who have not received the required
number of doses of the
MMR vaccine from attending
classes, according to Health
Department reps.
The unvaccinated pupil did
not display symptoms at the
time, but already contracted
the virus, and the highly contagious
airborne pathogen
soon swept through the school.
Health Department spokesman
Michael Lanza could not
immediately say when the
outbreak at Kehilath Yakov
began, and added that agency
offi cials have yet to issue any
OUT SICK: The measels virus spread to 21 new victims after educators at Williamsburg’s Yeshiva Kehilath Yakov
allowed a pre-symptomatic student infected with the virus to attend class. Photo by Colin Mixson
violations or penalties in the
wake of the new infections.
But Barbot issued a signed
“commissioner’s order” reinforcing
the emergency mandate
to yeshiva leaders, who
may be penalized if they further
violate the demand, according
to Lanza.
Health Department sleuths
tracked the wider outbreak of
the disease in Brooklyn to an
initial case a Kings Countian
contracted during an October
visit to Israel, where another
COURIER L 14 IFE, MARCH 15–21, 2019 M BR B G
outbreak of the virus is in full
swing. In the fi ve boroughs,
the illness has only spread
among members of the Orthodox
Jewish community, with
all but one case originating
in Kings County, according to
agency spokeswoman Stephanie
Buhle.
And news of the 21 additional
measles cases prompted
Orthodox Councilmen Kalman
Yeger (D–Borough Park)
and Chaim Deutsch (D–Sheepshead
Bay) to join city health
offi cials and other experts in
their calls for vaccination,
with Yeger stressing the importance
of immunization to
members of his community.
“It is imperative that parents
immediately vaccinate
their children,” he said. “It
is just as imperative that our
parents and yeshivas take all
the necessary precautions to
keep unvaccinated children
away from harm.”
Kehilath Yakov staffers declined
to comment.
Virus claims
new victims
Measels infects 21 at W’burg yeshiva
after educators allow sick kid in class