Three new cases were just reported in the Rockland County measles outbreak, pushing the total count to 161 cases in an outbreak that has been going on since September of 2018.
These are record breaking numbers.
So of course, it’s time to move the goalposts!
How Many Active Cases Are There in Rockland County?
The number of active cases in an outbreak is an important number.
It’s a sign that the outbreak is under poor control.
For example, there were 45 new cases of measles in Brooklyn this week, following reports of 33 new cases the previous week. In fact, in the past 21 days, the case count in Brooklyn went from 158 to 259, which likely means that there have been over 100 active measles cases in Brooklyn during that time.
What about Rockland County?
In the past three weeks, the case count in Rockland County has increased by 16.
Why is three weeks an important number?
Because that’s how long it takes to develop symptoms after they have been exposed to someone with measles.
The problem in Rockland County, as Ed Day said in his press conference, is that people hadn’t been cooperating with the health department. So it is hard to actually know how many active cases there are. Is it five cases, as someone at the health department recently told an anti-vaccine women impersonating a caller who was concerned about her infant?
If so, that’s five cases too many!
The most important thing to understand, is that as we continue to see new cases, there is no sign that the outbreaks are stopping.
And the only numbers that really matter are ZERO new cases for 42 days.
That’s when the outbreaks will be declared over.
Let’s hope that we get there before we are talking about a new number, someone dying with measles.
More on Active Cases in Rockland County
- How Orthodox Jewish Nurses Are Fighting ‘Anti-Vaccination Propaganda’ Targeting Their Community
- Amid a Measles Outbreak, an Ultra-Orthodox Nurse Fights Vaccination Fears in Her Community
- Anonymous anti-vaxxers push propaganda on local Orthodox community
- Rav Moshe Sternbuch Writes Letter To Rav Malkiel Kotler About The Halachic Requirement To Vaccinate
- The Frum Nurses’ Association That Educates Anti-Vaxxers & Other Orthodox Jews in the News
- Why Do Some Ultra-Orthodox Jews Defy Their Rebbes And Refuse Measles Vaccines?
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- VAXOPEDIA – The Rockland County Emergency Declaration
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- VAXOPEDIA – Vaccine Analogies and Metaphors
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- VAXOPEDIA – News on the Latest Measles Outbreaks of 2019
- Rockland County Measles Information
- Recent Measles Infections in Brooklyn and Queens
- Measles Outbreak in Orthodox Jewish Community of Brooklyn Continues to Grow — Health Department Urges Parents to Vaccinate Their Children
- Measles Is Spreading in Orthodox Communities. Here Are 6 Things You Need to Know.
- Gal Gadot and Bar Refaeli Encourage Israelis to Get Measles Vaccine
- Parents Wanted Their Unvaccinated Children in Waldorf School, but a Judge Said No.
- What Does Jewish Law Say About Vaccination?
- Statement on Vaccinations from the OU and Rabbinical Council of America
- Vaccines, Hysteria, and Rabbinic Responsibility: A Plea from the Trenches
- Ending the current measles epidemic: Haredi rabbis get it right
- Senior Haredi rabbis order followers to vaccinate their children
- Measles spike prompts letters from rabbis, government
- As Measles Spread, Leading Charedi Rabbis Come Out Strongly Against Anti-Vaxxers
- Vaccinations save lives