Photo: LWA/Dann Tardif
On September 3, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene officially declared the end to the 2018鈥19 measles outbreak, which accounted for more than 650 cases in the 5 boroughs鈥攖he most in New York City in more than 3 decades. However, political leaders and health professionals warn that another outbreak could occur if parents do not follow proper protocols for vaccinating their children.
In an opinion piece in The New York Times, Jennifer L. Lighter, MD, a pediatric infectious disease physician and epidemiologist at Hassenfeld Children鈥檚 Hospital at 嘿嘿视频 and assistant professor in the , points to a principal reason for the recent measles outbreak鈥攁nd it might surprise you. She says that the problem was not solely with science denial or the anti-vaccine movement, but rather more with those often referred to as the 鈥渧accine hesitant.鈥
鈥淩ather than following recommended scheduling for measles vaccination, parents choose to follow their own schedule, and some pediatricians supported these efforts,鈥 she says. 鈥淎s a result, many children were under-vaccinated, and that left them vulnerable to the disease.鈥
Read more from Dr. Lighter in .
