By Spencer Kimball -
CNBC
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared
a polio state of emergency
on Friday to boost vaccination rates against the poliovirus, which has been detected in sewage samples in the city and in four counties in the metropolitan area. Rockland, Orange, Sullivan and Nassau).
Unvaccinated people who live, work, go to school or visit those counties and New York City are at higher risk for this disease, which can cause paralysis, according to state officials.
[Polio Finding in New York Drain Suggests It's Spreading: "The Risk Is Real, The Defense Is Very Simple"]
New York began monitoring sewage in July after an unvaccinated adult in Rockland County contracted polio and became paralyzed, the first known infection in the United States in nearly a decade.
Alert in New York for possible polio infections, a feared disease eradicated more than 40 years ago
Aug. 12, 202201:34
The emergency declaration will expand the network of vaccine administrators to include pharmacists, midwives and emergency service workers to increase the immunization rate in areas where it has fallen.
New York State Health Commissioner Mary Bassett
has asked unvaccinated people to get immunized as soon as possible
.
If you are not sure if you received the injection, you can contact a service provider, clinic, or county health department.
“We can't play dice with polio
,” Bassett said, “I urge New Yorkers not to take any chances.
Polio immunization is safe and effective, protecting almost everyone who receives the recommended doses from the disease.”
Polio immunization is safe and effective, protecting almost everyone who receives the recommended doses from the disease
MARY BASSETT NEW YORK STATE HEALTH COMMISSIONER
The polio vaccination rate is dangerously low in some New York counties.
In Rockland it is 60%, in Orange it is 58%, in Sullivan it is 62% and in Nassau it is 79%.
The state average is about 79%, according to the Department of Health.
New Yorkers who have completed their vaccinations should receive a booster for life
, officials said.
Especially those who could be in contact with someone infected or believed to be infected with the poliovirus.
Health workers should also receive a booster dose if they work in areas where polio has been detected or handle samples and treat patients who may have polio.
People exposed to sewage should also consider it, officials said.
anilakkus / Getty Images/iStockphoto
Children should receive four doses of the vaccine
.
The first is given at six weeks to two months of age, the second at four months, the third at six to 18 months, and the fourth at four to six years.
Adults who have only received one or two doses should be vaccinated no matter how long ago the first ones were given.
[A New York resident tests positive for polio: it is the first recorded case in the US in almost a decade]
Polio spreads between people when the virus enters the mouth, usually through hands contaminated with the feces of someone infected.
The virus often goes unnoticed because 70% of the population shows no symptoms.
Only 25% develop mild flu-like symptoms.
One in 100 infected people develops a serious illness, such as permanent paralysis.
Poliomyelitis is fatal in 2% to 10% of paralyzed people
because the muscles used for breathing are immobilized.
