According to a News 12 report, in just a few days, two thousand people have received the measles vaccine in Monsey.

Rockland County administered around 300 MMR vaccines, and a partnering health clinic has given out 1,700.

Dozens of families turned up Thursday to the county’s Health Department, which was offering free MMR vaccines at the community outreach center. It was the latest in a series of free vaccine clinics offered by the county following the outbreak, which started at the beginning of this month.

The outbreak started after several people infected with the virus returned from Israel.

The number of confirmed cases is up to 18, with six more suspected.

There will be another free vaccine clinic Friday in Spring Valley.

YWN reported on Wednesday that the CHEMED Health Clinic in Lakewood was urging people to make sure they get vaccinated after there was a suspected case in the community.

There have been dozens of stories published by YWN in the past few months of measles alerts issued by authorities involving Frum people who have not been vaccinated.

Last Wednesday, YWN published a story about a measles outbreak in New York, with 6 residents of Williamsburg and seven residents of Rockland County confirmed to have the disease. An additional eight suspected cases in Rockland County were being investigated involving a mix of adults and children. Many are linked to recent travel to Israel which has been dealing with the disease for months.

Last Thursday, the Viznitz Monsey Girls School announced that any child who is not immunized, can’t return to school for 21 days. No “religious exemption” is accepted. A religious exemption does not work when there is a measles outbreak.

Three weeks ago, YWN reported about the Menahel of Breslov Mosdos in Tzefas having been infected with the measles. He was listed in critical condition at the time of the news story.

On Wednesday, YWN published an article where MK (Yisrael Beitenu) Yulia Malinovsky on Monday, during a session of the Knesset Health Committee, blasted the chareidi public of intensifying the spread of measles in Israel because so many of the community refuse to vaccinate.

Measles is highly contagious, so anyone who is not protected against measles is at risk of getting the disease.

People who are unvaccinated risk getting infected with measles and spreading it to others, and they may spread measles to people who cannot get vaccinated because they are too young or have specific health conditions.

Individuals are considered protected or immune to measles if:

• they were born before 1957

• have received two doses of measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine

• have had measles confirmed by a health care provider

• or have a lab test confirming immunity

Symptoms include a fever, rash, cough, conjunctivitis or runny nose, and they could appear 10 to 12 days after exposure.

The virus can remain in the air or on surfaces for up to two hours.

To prevent the spread of illness, health officials are advising individuals who may have been exposed and who have symptoms consistent with measles to contact their health care provider, a local clinic, or a local emergency department before going for care.