5K Polio Vaccinations Given In Rockland Since Resident Was Paralyzed

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — A massive outreach effort since a local resident was paralyzed by polio in July has resulted in 5,064 polio vaccines administered, and County Executive Ed Day will update residents about the vaccination drive and other efforts to deal with the polio virus circulating in the community during a live Facebook session on at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

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

"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."

Polio, once the terror of families across the United States and still a global scourge, spreads mostly from person to person or through contaminated water. It can infect a person’s spinal cord, causing paralysis and possibly permanent disability and death.

The paralyzed Rockland resident, a young adult, was infected in June. The case was confirmed and Rockland officials were notified July 18.

Wastewater surveillance shows it still circulating — in fact, in Rockland it has become more prevalent.

As of Sept. 9, a total of 57 positive wastewater samples have been confirmed, according to the state's latest data:

• 50 samples have been found to be genetically linked to the individual case of paralytic polio in a Rockland County resident.
• 31 of the positive samples were collected in Rockland County, 13 samples in Orange County, 6 samples in Sullivan County, and 1 sample was collected in Nassau County.
• Of the 31 samples identified in Rockland, 2 were collected in May, 3 were collected in June, 9 were collected in July, and 17 were collected in August.
• Of the 12 samples identified in Orange, 2 were collected in June, 5 in July, and 5 in August.
• Of the 6 samples identified in Sullivan, 2 were collected in July and 4 in August.
• The sample identified in Nassau was collected in August.
• 7 positive samples of concern, 1 collected in April from Orange County and 2 collected in June and 4 collected in July from New York City have also been identified. While at this time, these samples have not been genetically linked to the individual case in Rockland County, sequencing analysis characterizes these samples as either a vaccine-derived poliovirus (1, collected in New York City in July) or variants of the revertant polio Sabin type 2 poliovirus (6, 3 collected in July and 2 collected in June in New York City; 1 collected in April in Orange County). Both of these types of polioviruses can cause illness, including paralysis, in humans.

Rockland County officials said those who are fully immunized are at low risk and the focus remains getting those unvaccinated or behind on their 4-dose polio vaccine series up to date with the vaccination, particularly infants and preschool-aged children, because transmission of this disease only happens if overall vaccination rates remain low.

Rockland has a 60.34 percent vaccination rate against polio, one of the lowest in New York State. SEE: 2K Polio Vaccines Given In Rockland, Still Not Enough

The distribution of more than 5,000 vaccines shows that efforts by the County Department of Health, New York State Health Department and Centers for Disease Control to boost immunizations are working, they said.

By far, most of those vaccines were given to Rockland residents under 5 years old. The age breakdown of the 5,064 polio vaccinations:

• 0 to 4 - 77.2 percent
• 5 to 18 - 13.8 percent
• 19 to 64 - 5.0 percent
• 65 and up - 4.0 percent

While the state used to only require vaccinations of those 18 and under be reported into NYSIIS, under the executive order, all health care providers must report polio vaccinations for people 19 and older to NYSIIS as well.

The single paralytic strain that caused the case in Rockland originated overseas from an individual who received the oral polio vaccine (OPV), which hasn’t been administered in the U.S. since 2000. NYSDOH confirms this polio case is linked to strains in wastewater samples found in Israel and the UK, as far back as February.

The paralyzed Rockland resident had not himself traveled abroad, health officials said.

Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) which is administered in the U.S., is safe and effective and will not cause polio.

Vaccines became available starting in 1955, and a national vaccination campaign cut the annual number of U.S. cases to less than 100 in the 1960s and fewer than 10 in the 1970s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 1979, polio was declared eliminated in the U.S., meaning there was no longer routine spread. SEE: NY Confirms 1st Case Of Polio In U.S. Since 2013

You can schedule an appointment to receive the IPV at our Health Department clinic in Pomona on Mondays and Wednesdays by clicking here. Anyone who needs assistance scheduling an appointment can call the RCDOH at 845-238-1956.

The County of Rockland is distributing a second round of flyers this week urging families to get vaccinated against polio in four different languages, following more than 5,000 flyers already distributed last month. In addition to this, the RCDOH is having ongoing conversations with local health providers, which families trust, to boost immunizations.

"As the investigation continues, we implore families to get vaccinated now," officials said on Facebook.

The Facebook live session will begin at 4 p.m.