NY measles outbreak spotlights religious exemptions from vaccine | Times of Israel |

HAVERSTRAW, New York (AFP) -- Patricia Schnabel Ruppert, the health commissioner of an outlying New York suburban county, is feeling "overwhelmed." Since October she has been waging an uphill fight to quell one of the worst US measles outbreaks in 20 years.

This picture shows a boy walking on the street in a Jewish neighborhoods of Nyack, Rockland County, New York. (Johannes Eisele/AFP)

... the county took the unprecedented measure on March 26 of banning unvaccinated minors from schools and public places for 30 days. Several public health specialists saluted the county's decision.

But a dozen parents of public-school students sued the county, arguing that the measure was disproportionate to the danger, particularly as there have been no deaths to date.