Free Republic

Dr. Oxiris Barbot stepped down as New York City health commissioner Tuesday citing the city’s Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio as reason for her leaving. “I leave my post today with deep disappointment that during the most critical public health crisis in our lifetime, that the Health Department’s incomparable disease control expertise was not used to the degree that it could have been,” Barbot wrote in her resignation letter reviewed by the New York Times. “Our experts are world renowned for their epidemiology, surveillance and response work. The city would be well served by having them at the strategic center...

New York City Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot on Tuesday warned parents in the city not to hold so-called "measles parties" as officials work to counter an outbreak of the disease. Barbot warned that some parents have had "measles parties" to have their children infected with the disease in an effort to immunize them naturally, rather than through a vaccination, according to BuzzFeed News. "We are concerned about families having measles parties," Barbot said at a news conference, according to Fox News.