But city health officials say they have they have struck the right balance with the unusual order, and they hope a mixture of outreach and prodding will overcome resistance to vaccines in a slice of the predominantly Orthodox Jewish community hardest hit by the disease.
"The measles vaccine is highly effective," Dr. Herminia Palacio, the city's deputy mayor for health and human services, said Wednesday. "Measles is highly contagious. That combination means this is the right time for this measure."
Palacio spoke a day after she joined Mayor Bill de Blasio and other officials in announcing the vaccine order affecting four ZIP codes in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn and threatening possible fines of up to $1,000 for noncompliance.