We commend New York Mayor de Blasio for declaring a public health emergency in parts of Brooklyn, where children, predominantly ultra-Orthodox Jews, are at the center of a massive measles outbreak.
We commend him for demanding everyone living in select zip codes in Williamsburg get vaccinated, lest they incur a substantial fine.
Without a critical mass of vaccinations, this virus will spread, including to not-yet-protected infants and people with serious health conditions that prevent them from getting their shots.
That risk is heightened with the approach of Passover, when people will be gathering and traveling in large numbers.
Vaccines are safe. They protect us. But not unless we get them.
