State Of Emergency Declared Due to Polio Outbreak In New York

Another major disease is having an impact on New York State and health officials are trying to stem its spread before things get really out of control.

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In a major announcement on Friday, September 9, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a State of Emergency in New York State to make additional resources to stop the recent Polio outbreak that is happening in the state.

According to officials at the New York State Department of Health, it's been more than 30 years since the last positive infection of Polio in the state, but recently there has been a large increase in the number of potential polio infections.

The disease has been confirmed in Nassau County, and there is a large amount of evidence that the disease is prime to spread widely across New York. State representatives report that vaccination rates for Polio hvoer around 80% of the state population, but vary widely depending on the county, and that variation in areas of low vaccination rates create the environment where the disease can begin to propagate amongst the population. Medical professionals and government officials are now taking steps to reduce its transmission.

With the disaster declaration that Governor Hochul made, many more medical professionals are now able to administer the polio vaccine than what is normally allowed. This will, officials hope, help to increase the vaccination rates of state residents and therefore better protect people from being infected.

What Is Polio

According to the New York State Department of Health, Polio is a serious and life-threatening disease that has no cure. It's caused by a virus that can affect the nervous system and cause muscle weakness, some polio cases can result in paralysis or death.

Polio is highly infectious. There are a range of symptoms people infected with polio may experience, ranging from having no symptoms, to mild and flu-like symptoms, to serious symptoms, including paralysis, permanent disability or post-polio syndrome, and even death.
-NYS Department of Health

New York State Department of Health

This is yet another medical issue to be concerned about in the United States. We have COVID-19, Monkeypox, West Nile, and now Polio.

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