New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency on Friday as yet another county announced detection of the virus in wastewater samples, a sign the outbreak continues to spread throughout the Empire State.
The governor's declaration came the same day local authorities on Long Island said recent testing of wastewater in Nassau County turned up positive traces of the polio virus. That county joins Rockland, Orange and Sullivan in detecting the virus in sewage samples.
Broadening the state's vaccination efforts is a cornerstone of the emergency order. The declaration expands vaccine administrators to include pharmacists, midwives and EMS workers, Hochul's press release said. The order also requires healthcare providers to pass along immunization data to aid the health department's oversight.
“On polio, we simply cannot roll the dice,” State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said Friday. “If you or your child are unvaccinated or not up to date with vaccinations, the risk of paralytic disease is real."
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The Nassau County executive planned to hold a briefing Friday afternoon following the recent testing of wastewater that turned up positive traces of the polio virus.
It's the latest county to detect polio since the state Health Department confirmed four samples from Sullivan County, two from July and two from August, tested positive for the type of virus that can cause paralytic polio.
So far the state only has one confirmed case of a paralyzing polio infection, from Rockland County. But related viral samples have turned up in wastewater from Orange County and New York City as well. Retroactive testing of samples confirmed the virus was circulating in the community as far back as April, well before the young, unvaccinated Rockland man was infected.
“The polio in New York today is an imminent threat to all adults and children who are unvaccinated or not up to date with their polio immunizations," Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said in a statement.
