B’klyn schools defied measles vaccination orders
Two defiant Brooklyn yeshivas were closed by the city Thursday for failing to comply with emergency measures to combat the ongoing measles outbreak.
The two United Talmudical Academy locations — UTA of Williamsburg-Yeshiva Torah V’Yirah at 590 Bedford Ave. and UTA 212 at 212 Williamsburg St. — won’t be allowed to reopen until the Health Department determines they’re compliant with the city’s emergency order.
So far 11 schools have been closed since the city mandated anyone who lives, works or goes to school in four Williamsburg zip codes be inoculated with the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine or risk fines.
UTA of Williamsburg was closed Thursday for failing to prove a child present at the school was immune and for allowing unvaccinated kids and staff on site, according to the Health Department. This is the second time the Bedford Ave. school has been closed by the city over its response to the measles outbreak.
UTA 212 was closed after allowing 35 students to attend class who were either unvaccinated or didn’t have enough doses of the vaccine to be in the school.
A message left for UTA of Williamsburg was not immediately returned late Thursday afternoon. A call to UTA 212 was not picked up.
The schools can’t reopen until they prove they’re in compliance with the city’s emergency order.
On Tuesday, the city also closed Central UTA Boys Division at 762 Wythe Ave. after the school didn’t keep out students and staff without proof they were vaccinated.
The United Talmudical Academy in Williamsburg was previously hit with $13,000 in fines for 11 violations at four different locations last month.
“The spread of measles may be slowing down, but we are not,” Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot said in a statement. “This is a message to all schools that have been ordered to exclude unvaccinated children — we will not stop our enforcement until the outbreak comes to an end. School staff must do their part to help us end this outbreak and keep New Yorkers safe.”
As of Tuesday, there were 588 confirmed measles cases citywide since the outbreak began last October, according to the Health Department. Nationwide, there have been 1,022 cases reported cases this year through June 6.