The Health Department is urging customers of an Upper West Side gourmet market to get a hepatitis A vaccination after the store learned that one of its employees had contracted the virus.
Health officials said last night that customers who ate chopped, ready-to-eat fruit from Westside Market on Broadway between 97th and 98th streets should get the vaccine as a precautionary measure.
A spokesman for the eatery said last night that the employee worked in the produce department and his contact with the food was “probably minimal,” but the store was “not taking any chances.”
“The 97th Street location has undertaken every step necessary in response to a potential health issue that was brought to our attention today,” the store’s spokesman said. “The market is open and will continue providing quality foods.”
The Health Department will offer free hepatitis A vaccinations at Middle School 258 at 154 W. 93rd St. starting today from 2 to 8 p.m.
The eatery said there have been no reports of customers contracting hepatitis A.