Health officials may forcibly inject residents of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who flout a mandatory vaccination order, a City Hall spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday.
“We will consider [forcible vaccinations] on a case-by-case basis,” said mayoral spokeswoman Marcy Miranda, adding that the drastic measure is “not our first choice.”
City officials announced a public health emergency over the outbreak following the diagnoses of 285 cases of measles since October.
Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot signed an order Tuesday that requires around 212,000 people who live and work in Williamsburg and aren’t already immune to measles to be vaccinated within 48 hours. Violators will face a $1,000 fine.
Miranda said there’s no blueprint for how city officials could forcibly vaccinate people.
“Because we have not done this before it’s not like we have a path set out. We’d have to confer with our legal team,” Miranda said.
“We’re hoping it doesn’t quite get that extreme. We’re hoping people will comply,” Miranda said.
But, she added, “This is a big deal. We’re talking about people’s lives here. We hope people will comply.”