Unvaccinated Kids Lose Motion to Return to School

A federal judge in New York has denied the request for a temporary injunction to reverse the temporary rule that unvaccinated children cannot attend school in Rockland County.

The case stems from Rockland County's response to the measles outbreak, which actually hit several towns within the county. Currently, the county is reporting 147 cases. The county, being cautious, issued a temporary order requiring unvaccinated children to stay home from school. However, the parents of unvaccinated children weren't too happy about that, and filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn that order.

Avoiding Outbreak

Despite the fact that the parents are upset, and being kept out of school is very likely to impact the children, the public health crisis that could emerge from a measles outbreak could be catastrophic. Shockingly, almost 20 percent of the county's children that contracted measles were actually vaccinated. 

Interestingly, the parents of the unvaccinated children, who are primarily Orthodox Jewish families, allege that the order violates their religious freedom. But that might not be the case as a rabbi and doctor explained to Kaiser Health News. 

However, scarily, the school in question had a vaccination rate of just one-third at the time the order was put into place. That number has since risen to over fifty percent. And even more good news: The school has not had any cases of measles among their students.

Related Resources:

• Fertility Clinic Sued by Gay Couple Over Sperm Mix-Up (FindLaw's U.S. Second Circuit Blog)
• Musk Facing Contempt Over Tweet (FindLaw's U.S. Second Circuit Blog)
• Seinfeld Sues Over Fake Porsche in Manhattan Federal Court (FindLaw's U.S. Second Circuit Blog)