NY Officially Under A Polio State Of Emergency, Hochul Declares

NEW YORK CITY — Polio is officially a state of emergency in New York as the dangerous virus has been detected in wastewater in several counties, including in New York City, declared Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Hochul's emergency order Friday sets the stage for a stepped-up response against the virus by allowing emergency medical workers, midwives and pharmacists to administer the polio vaccine.

The virus has been most recently detected in Nassau County wastewater, health officials said. It had been detected in New York City sewage in early August.

"On polio, we simply cannot roll the dice," said Mary Bassett, the state's health commissioner, in a statement.

"If you or your child are unvaccinated or not up to date with vaccinations, the risk of paralytic disease is real. I urge New Yorkers to not accept any risk at all."

The now-rare virus caused a confirmed case of paralytic polio in a Rockland County resident on July 21 — the first in the nation since 2013.

Health officials warn that every case of paralytic polio could mean hundreds more are undetected.

Vaccination against polio prevents paralytic infection, experts say.

But vaccination rates have slipped in parts of New York, with some effected counties as low as 58.8 percent.

New York City's polio vaccination rate stands at 86.2 percent citywide, with some neighborhoods exceeding 99 percent, according to city data.

Five ZIP Codes — in Battery Park City and Bed-Stuy, Williamsburg and other nearby Brooklyn areas — have vaccination rates as low as 56.3 percent, the data shows.

Information on the polio vaccine can be found here.