New York City Declares End To Measles Outbreak

Gothamist reports:

New York City’s biggest measles outbreak in nearly 30 years, which predominantly sickened ultra-Orthodox Jewish residents of Williamsburg and Borough Park, has ended. According to Health Department officials, 42 days, or two consecutive incubation periods for the highly contagious virus have passed, allowing the city to declare itself measles-free.

The last recorded infection was in mid-July. An emergency order in place since April that required measles vaccination for all people who lived, worked or attended school in four Brooklyn zip codes has been lifted.

While the majority of measles infections occurred among ultra-Orthodox communities, the government response to the outbreak spurred pushback from anti-vaccine activists from all over the state and the country–some Amish, some Mennonite, others affiliated with alternative private schools Waldorf schools. They filed multiple legal challenges in federal and state courts, they turned out in droves to lobby lawmakers in Albany and they packed courtrooms when their cases were heard.