New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has declared a state of emergency in response to rising concerns over poliovirus. Hochul made the declaration on Friday after state health officials found virus samples in 5 counties — Rockland County, Orange County, Sullivan County, New York City, and most recently, Nassau County. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found poliovirus samples in Nassau County through "sequence analysis of wastewater surveillance," CNN reports.
Officials traced the sample from Nassau County back to a case pinpointed in Rockland County on Long Island. This sample has provided evidence to support the risk of potential community spread. All of the samples have been deemed "samples of concern" as they are types of poliovirus that put people at risk of paralysis. In response to the potential dangers of a polio outbreak, state health officials have released an executive order to increase the accessibility of resources to protect against possible infection. The order will include expanding the network of polio vaccine administrators, per CNN.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How to make music part of your vacationLet the rhythm move you
-
What is credit card churning and why is it risky?the explainer Churners frequently open new credit cards with the intent of earning a welcome bonus and accessing other perks
-
Will NATO countries meet their new spending goal?today's big question The cost of keeping Trump happy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
A disproven medical theory could be guiding RFK Jr.'s health policyThe Explainer The miasma theory is one of the oldest medical beliefs in history
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
Children's breakfast cereals are getting more unhealthyUnder the radar Your kids may be starting their day with more than a spoonful of sugar
-
The New World screwworm is making a deadly comebackThe explainer The parasite is spreading quickly
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
