State health authorities are grappling with renewed outbreaks of preventable diseases as immunization rates fall below the critical 95 percent threshold needed to prevent community spread. The recent fatality in Lewis County prompted state leaders to criticize federal disease prevention efforts while pointing to rising case numbers across the region. Officials warn that eroding vaccination coverage threatens to reverse decades of progress achieved since domestic transmission was eliminated in 2000. Prior to the fatality, an October disaster emergency had already expanded testing and vaccine administration authority to midwives, paramedics, and nurses.
Key points
National vaccination coverage has declined below the 95 percent threshold required to sto…: National vaccination coverage has declined below the 95 percent threshold required to stop outbreaks of the virus.
An emergency declaration expanded the authority to administer vaccines to include paramed…: An emergency declaration expanded the authority to administer vaccines to include paramedics, midwives, and other medical personnel.
Nurses in New York now hold the authority alongside physicians to directly order measles…: Nurses in New York now hold the authority alongside physicians to directly order measles testing.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
LOWVILLE, N.Y. — A child in rural northern New York has died after contracting measles, marking the state’s first death from the disease in 30 years, state officials announced Monday.
The child died in Lewis County, about 93 miles (150 kilometers) north of Syracuse, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
The U.S. stopped the domestic spread of measles in 2000 by maintaining high vaccination rates, but they have fallen in recent years to below the 95% coverage needed to prevent outbreaks of the viral disease.
Hochul, a Democrat, said the child’s death is “a devastating reminder of what’s at stake when Washington deliberately erodes decades of progress in protecting Americans from preventable illnesses.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed three measles-associated deaths in the U.S. this year, but state health departments have reported higher numbers. Pennsylvania health officials have reported five deaths this year and are investigating a possible sixth.
Hochul declared a disaster emergency in early October because of measles cases in neighboring states and in rural areas of New York. The executive order extended the pool of…
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