Free Polio Booster Shots For Traveling Rocklanders: Officials

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — Rockland is offering free booster shots to residents planning travel this spring to areas of the world where polio is active, including Israel, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire.

A little girl in northern Israel was paralyzed by polio and four others tested positive in March, leading to a health advisory from the State Health Department urging all New Yorkers planning travel this spring to Israel and other countries with circulating poliovirus to get fully immunized against polio and to follow CDC recommendations for travel.

The Israeli case comes less than a year after a Rockland County resident, a young unvaccinated man, was paralyzed by polio, which was found widely circulating in Rockland and Orange counties.

Israel has also reported poliovirus widespread in wastewater systems.

Adults who completed the polio vaccine series as children and are planning to travel to countries with increased risk of polio may receive a one-time booster dose of the IPV polio vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

The Rockland County Department of Health is offering free polio booster clinics at the Robert Yeager Health Center, 50 Sanatorium Road, Building A, in Pomona.

These clinics are only for those who have completed their polio vaccination series. These clinics are walk-in; no appointment is needed:

• Friday, March 24, from 9:00 am-11:00 am
• Friday, April 14, from 9:00 am-11:00 am
• Friday, April 28, from 9:00 am-11:00 am

Polio is a highly contagious, life-threatening disease that affects the nervous system and can cause muscle weakness, paralysis, and even death. It is spread from person to person through infected feces (which can be microscopic) that enter the body through the mouth. Polio can also be spread through contact with contaminated bodies of water. Respiratory transmission and oral to oral transmission through saliva may also account for some cases.

Symptoms of polio, which can be mild and flu-like, can take up to 30 days to appear, during which time an infected individual can be shedding virus to others. Some polio cases can result in paralysis or death. According to the World Health Organization, of those paralyzed, 5-10 percent die when their breathing muscles become immobilized.

Most people infected with polio have no symptoms, yet they can still spread the virus. About 1 out of 4 people have mild symptoms including, fever, muscle weakness, headache, nausea, and vomiting.

In some cases, polio can infect a person’s brain and spinal cord, causing permanent paralysis (cannot move parts of the body) or even death. Between 2 and 10 out of 100 people who have paralysis from polio die because the virus affects the muscles that help them breathe. Even people who seem to recover fully can develop new muscle pain, weakness, or paralysis 15 to 40 years later.

Anyone who has not been vaccinated against polio, once the terror of families across the United States and still a global scourge, is at risk.

If you or a family member have never been vaccinated against polio or have not completed the polio vaccination series, call the Rockland County Department of Health at 845-364-2520 or 845-364-2524 to make an appointment at the Immunization Clinic.

"The only protection from this dangerous disease is immunization," said Dr. Ruppert. "Because of worldwide travel and low vaccination rates, polio may likely be seen in our area again this year. Now is the time to protect yourself and your family from polio and other vaccine-preventable infectious diseases."

For more information about travel to areas where polio is common, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. For more information on the Rockland County Department of Health’s immunization clinics, click here.

SEE ALSO:

• Rockland Polio Strain Matches Virus Samples In London, Jerusalem
• Polio Paralyzes Resident, Rockland Clinic Vaccinates 18
• Health Officials Concerned About Polio Vaccination Rates In The HV