On March 26, Rockland County, N.Y., issued a 30-day emergency declaration banning unvaccinated children from enclosed public places. Within four days, there had been 500-plus vaccinations administered in the county, Rockland County Executive Ed Day told CNBC.
The ban was a response to an ongoing measles outbreak in the region. There have been 371 measles cases in New York City and Rockland County since fall 2018, with 157 of those cases being reported in Rockland County. Many of the cases occurred among members of the Orthodox Jew community, several of whom do not immunize their children. Rockland County banned unvaccinated children from shopping malls, schools and restaurants, among others, for a month.
"We're not enforcing it by having people check people and things of that nature. But basically people simply understand now that we are serious about this," said Mr. Day on the CNBC show, The Exchange.
Mr. Day believes the county is on track reach an immunization rate of 93 percent with the first dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, which is administered in two doses. The CDC recommends the first shot be given between 12 and 15 months of age.