Members of the New York state Senate are joining the fight to encourage people to get vaccinated amid an ongoing measles outbreak in the state.

Lawmakers in the Democrat-led chamber launched a public awareness campaign on Monday designed to give people accurate information about inoculations and how to get them while dispelling myths that they are unsafe.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Yonkers Democrat, said the campaign is a useful reminder that vaccines save lives.

Health officials say more than 600 cases of measles have been reported this year, the most since 2014.

The vast majority have been in New York – mainly in New York City and in nearby Rockland County. Most of the New York cases have been unvaccinated people in Orthodox Jewish communities.

(AP)