Res 0865-2019

By Council Member Levine Whereas, There has been a rising occurrence in the outbreak of diseases such as measles across the United States with approximately 465 cases in 19 states from January 1 through April 4, 2019, according the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, totaling the second-highest number of cases reported in the United States since the declared elimination of the disease in 2000; and Whereas, Measles is a highly contiguous and easily transmitted viral disease which can live for up to two hours in air or on surfaces where an infected person coughed or sneezed and people who lack immunity to the disease are much more likely to contract the virus if they come into in contact with an infectious person or near where an infected person recently has been; and Whereas, Measles can result in very serious complications like brain swelling and pneumonia especially in those with weakened or compromised immune systems such as infants, young children, pregnant persons, and older adults; and Whereas, Ohio teenager, Ethan Lindenberger testified to Congress in March about the dangerous of misinformation and the prevalence of anti-vaccination sentiment in the United States and that he defied his family's believes and got himself a series of immunizations after his realization that he was a health risk to his school and community without them; and Whereas, In December of 2018, New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) issued exclusion orders which banned unvaccinated children from attending yeshivas until they were vaccinated or the outbreak had concluded for specific zip codes in Brooklyn and Queens where the outbreaks were most severe totaling 423 confirmed cases, including 61 and 348 confirmed cases in Borough Park and Williamsburg respectively as of April 29, 2019; and Whereas, On April 9, 2019, Mayor Bill de Blasio declared the spread of measles a public health emergency and DOHMH announced that they would require unvaccinated individuals living in select ZIP codes to receive the Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine in order to deal with the rising numbers of infected people in this part of the city and those who don't comply will be subject to potential fines; and Whereas, The bill proposed in the New York State legislature would permit any child aged 14 years or older to be vaccinated and given booster shots without parental consent for a range of diseases including mumps, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, influenza, hepatitis B and measles, which would help to ensure the necessary herd immunity that keeps communities safe and protects the most vulnerable members of the population, like infants, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems from exposure and contraction; and; now, therefore, be it Resolved, The New York City Council calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign A6564/S4244, which would permit any child who is at least fourteen years old to have administered certain immunizations required or recommended by law, regardless of parental consent. ..Body N.O. April 29, 2019 LS 10,322