New York City officials urge vaccination after two measles cases confirmed
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Highly contagious respiratory illness was declared eliminated in US in 2000 but new cases have now risen

Anyone who has not received an immunization should get a vaccine and should also make sure children receive the  (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccines, the health department advises.

“**As a pediatrician and the state’s doctor, I want to remind everyone that immunization is safe and the best protection for your children against measles and other potentially deadly diseases,”** said Dr James McDonald, the state health commissioner, in a .

The news comes just after  had three confirmed measles cases in Bergen county and  in response.

In 2024, 14 cases were reported in the city by the  City health department.


*Photo: Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images*

Measles, a highly contagious respiratory illness, was officially declared eliminated in the US in 2000. Yet cases have been on the rise in recent years. The re-emergence of preventable illnesses comes at a time when misinformation about vaccines is rampant, and  are declining in the US.

There have been 164 cases across the US as of 27 February, spreading across Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, Rhode Island and Texas, according to the . Twenty percent of those cases have resulted in hospitalization.

Texas saw the biggest outbreak so far with 146 cases, and last week the state reported the  in the US since 2015. The school-aged child who died was not vaccinated, the Texas department of state health services said.

Following the outbreak, US health secretary and anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist   last week downplaying the cases.

Though he had initially referred to the US measles outbreak as “not unusual”, he appeared to recognize the seriousness by saying that “ending the measles outbreak is a top priority for me”, in an X post.
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