New York Gov. Kathy Hotchul declared a “state disaster emergency” on Friday after the polio virus was found in sewage from a fourth county, indicating the dangerous virus continues to spread, possibly in areas with abysmal vaccination rates.
Today’s emergency declaration aims to increase access to polio vaccines in the state by allowing more types of health care providers to authorize and administer polio vaccines. It also makes it a requirement for health care providers to report vaccination data to the state, allowing health officials to better identify vulnerable areas.
The state of emergency dates back to July, when officials reported paralytic polio in an unvaccinated adult in Rockland County whose symptoms began in June. As of September 9, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has detected poliovirus in 57 sewage samples from four counties (Rockland, Orange, Sullivan and newcomer Nassau) and New York, with the first detection in April from Orange County.
Despite public awareness and vaccination campaigns, transmission appears to be strong. Of these 57 positive samples, 27 were detected in August. And 50 of the 57 positive samples are directly genetically linked to the Rockland paralytic polio case. Those 50 genetically linked samples include the newest county to detect the polio virus, Nassau, which had a positive sewage sample last month.
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Vaccination rates in affected counties are alarming. Rockland County — which is notorious for generally low vaccination rates after battling a persistent measles outbreak in 2019 — has a polio vaccination rate of just 60 percent among children younger than age 2, who are recommended to get three doses polio vaccine. Orange and Sullivan counties have rates of 57 percent and 62 percent, respectively. Nassau has a better rate of 79%, which is the same as the state average.
However, these countywide averages may cover cases of even lower vaccination. New York state has ZIP code-level vaccination rate data for Rockland and Orange counties—and it’s alarming. In Orange, two ZIP codes have vaccination rates of 31 percent and 41 percent. Rockland has a zip code with a vaccination rate as low as 37 percent. The state health department says its goal is to achieve vaccination rates above 90%.
“In polio, we just can’t roll the dice,” said New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett, in a statement Friday. “If you or your child are unvaccinated or up-to-date on immunizations, the risk of crippling disease is real. I urge New Yorkers to take absolutely no risk.”
