Wait, why do some folks think that the measles outbreaks in New York are a hoax?
Oh, the usual suspects…
Are the Measles Outbreaks in New York a Hoax?
Brooklyn, New York had 654 measles cases in the largest measles outbreak in 27 years.
There have been an additional 312 confirmed, reported cases in Rockland County, New York, the longest measles outbreak since the endemic spread of measles was declared eliminated in 2000.
Were they a hoax?
“A total of 654 cases were confirmed, with rash onsets between September 30, 2018 and July 15, 2019. Serious complications included hospitalization (52), intensive unit care (19) and pneumonia (34). Multiple international importations of measles introduced into a community with prevalent delays in vaccination among young children propagated this outbreak.”
2019 Health Alert #26: Update on Measles Outbreak in New York City
Of course not!
The New York State Department of Health advises that on all suspected measles cases, “Viral specimens (nasopharyngeal swaband urine) and serology (IgM and IgG) should be obtained for diagnostic testing and confirmation.”
Were these cases all caused by vaccine strain measles, as Larry Palevesky suggests?
Of course not!
A vaccine strain has never before caused a measles outbreak. And NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot, in a press conference, stated that “Yeah, it’s, you can’t get the measles from the vaccine.”
Although anti-vax folks often focus on the measles strain when there is an outbreak, all it really helps you do is figure out where the imported cases came from.
Even though health officials didn’t tell us the specific strains involved in the outbreaks, guess what, they did tell us the sources of the outbreak, so it is basically the same thing.
The cases were imported from Israel, UK, and Ukraine.
And the CDC has told us that “All measles cases this year have been caused by measles wild-type D8 or B3.”
“We have to stop blaming, accusing, targeting, ostracizing, condemning unvaccinated children as a health risk, which would then make this subject completely moot.”
Larry Palevsky
What else do we know about the measles outbreak in Brooklyn?
- it began in October 2018 “with an unvaccinated child from Brooklyn who acquired measles in Israel”
- it included 15 neighborhoods in Brooklyn, with most concentrated in Williamsburg, Borough Park, and Sunset Park
- the majority of cases were in children, including at least 91 cases in infants less than 12 months old
- the great majority of cases were unvaccinated, with only 27 cases fully vaccinated with two doses of MMR
- there were 52 hospitalizations, including 16 ICU admissions
And the outbreak cost over $6 million to control!
The Rockland County measles outbreak ended in late September and is also said to have cost over $6 million to control.
So why do they think they are a hoax?
“There were over 800 kids who the New York State and New York City Department of Health have said were confirmed cases of measles. The real question is, were these really confirmed as per the CDC recommendations. We do not have that data. In fact, anecdotally, New York State told the physicians not to do the tests.”
Larry Palevsky
Is this about the strains again? Is this about the fact that once you know you are in the middle of a huge measles outbreak, you might be able to start diagnosing kids clinically?
“New York State lied when they said that there were confirmed cases. We don’t know what kind of illnesses the kids had. And there’s a set of papers in the literature that specifically state that if the children are found by analysis to have a measles virus infection that is consistent with a side effect of the vaccine, it is important for the Department of Health to alert the public that it was a vaccine strain that caused the outbreak, because a vaccine strain illness should not be equated with a public health emergency. [Applause]”
Larry Palevsky
Yes, it is about the strains…
“So the reality is that when there is a vaccine strain measles outbreak, meaning that the vaccine itself was not properly attenuated, meaning it was more active and virulent than just simply giving an antibody response in the body, when that occurs an outbreak is almost always very very close to the vest, meaning that would explain why it was only seen in two communities out of 62. And if New York state had done the proper testing of the vaccine to see if it was too virulent and of the children who had the measles infection to see what type of measles virus they had, then in all likelihood this was a vaccine strain measles infection which is known to be a side effect of the vaccine and not a public health emergency.”
Larry Palevsky
Is any of that true?
Since we have never had an outbreak of measles from an MMR vaccine that wasn’t properly attenuated, I’m guessing no, it isn’t. Also remember that to control the outbreak, they gave lots and lots of MMR vaccine to unvaccinated folks in those communities…
What about his explanation for why we only saw outbreaks in Brooklyn and Rockland Counties? Well, for one thing, we didn’t. Other areas of New York and of course, around the country have seen a rise in measles. And the outbreaks in Brooklyn and Rockland Counties were caused when unvaccinated folks traveled to Israel, UK, and Ukraine and returned to an area with low immunization rates. They weren’t caused by a bad batch or mutant strains of measles in the MMR vaccine.
“So the New York State Department of Health failed to do their job and instead they lied and said the cases were confirmed and they didn’t do their due diligence to actually evaluate all the possible reasons that an outbreak could have occurred. It’s very strange that two communities where there are lots of people moving through those communities that are non-Jewish, that are outside of the state that are coming through and why just those communities got the illness. That should have raised the red flag that something else was going on and your state failed us.”
Is it possible that those other people moving in and out of those communities in Brooklyn and Rockland County were vaccinated and protected against measles?!?
One thing should be very clear.
Brooklyn may have stopped their measles outbreak, but New York still has a public health emergency on their hands.
Well, not just New York. We need to stop this kind of propaganda if we want to keep parents from being scared to immunize and protect their kids.
More on Measles in NY
- More Questions to Help You Become a Vaccine Skeptic
- Why Are You Still Worried About the MMR Vaccine?
- Was the Measles Outbreak in Michigan Caused by Vaccine-Strain Measles?
- Did New York Declare Medical Martial Law over a Measles Outbreak?
- What Does the Torah Say About Vaccines?
- How an Anti-Vaccine Safety Handbook Has Caused the Longest Measles Outbreak in Recent History
- 2018 – 2019 Measles Outbreak in Rockland County
- Outbreak in Brooklyn and Queens, 2018-2019
- Measles Review for Providers. Responding to New York State’s largest outbreak since measles elimination. (November 28, 2018)
- Measles in NYC Webinar Presentation for Providers (June 12, 2019)
- 2019 Health Alert #26: Update on Measles Outbreak in New York City
- Transcript: De Blasio Administration Declares Public Health Emergency Due to Measles Crisis
- Mayor de Blasio, Health Officials Declare End of Measles Outbreak in New York City
- MMWR – Notes from the Field: Measles Outbreaks from Imported Cases in Orthodox Jewish Communities — New York and New Jersey, 2018–2019
- This New York doctor has been publicly urging parents not to vaccinate their children in the midst of a measles outbreak. Why is he still allowed to practice medicine?
- ‘Monkey, Rat and Pig DNA’: How Misinformation Is Driving the Measles Outbreak Among Ultra-Orthodox Jews
- Rabbi At Anti-Vaccination Symposium Blames ‘Illegals’ For Spreading Disease
- Hundreds attend ultra-Orthodox anti-vaccine event in New York
- A Slice of Pie: MMR Edition
- How Orthodox Jewish Nurses Are Fighting ‘Anti-Vaccination Propaganda’ Targeting Their Community