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New York Declares Polio Emergency

The virus was once thought to be eradicated, but it’s made a recent resurgence in New York’s wastewater.

Nassau County is the latest region in New York to find the polio virus in its wastewater, sparking a health emergency declaration by Gov. Kathy Hochul that will expand vaccination efforts against the devastating disease. The new order will allow EMS workers, midwives, and pharmacists to administer the polio vaccine. The state has faced one confirmed polio infection, in Rockland County, which resulted in the paralysis of an unvaccinated young adult in July, according to the state health department, the first case in nearly a decade. “On polio, we simply cannot roll the dice,” State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said in a statement Friday. “If you or your child are unvaccinated or not up to date with vaccinations, the risk of paralytic disease is real.” Positive traces of the virus have also been found in Orange and Sullivan Counties and New York City sewage.