I’m sure some of you opened up The Wall Street Journal this morning and saw the front page article about measles in the Orthodox Jewish population. If you turned on CBS NewsRadio 880 or 1010 WINS, the measles outbreak in Williamsburg was the lead story.
You can mark your calendars. There is the potential to be a measles outbreak of unheralded proportions this summer in the Catskills. As we all know, there is a mixing of the neighborhoods over the summer, and kids of all ages are going to be in close contact. I am predicting that as soon as the first child in a day camp has measles, the Sullivan County Department of Health is going to close down that day camp for at least 30 days. THIS IS ALL PREVENTABLE.
My family and I are all vaccinated. I don’t have any children in day camp. But I have no interest in the Department of Health coming into my bungalow colony. I would hate to see one of my friends’ children in an ICU on a respirator. (There are currently a few on a respirator now with measles.)
Vaccinate your kids!! Encourage your friends to vaccinate their kids!!
Wishing everyone a healthy and joyous Pesach,
Ellie Bennett, MD