Will 2024 measles outbreak hit Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley? What we know now in NY

David Robinson, New York State Team
·4 min read
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The 2024 measles outbreak spreading across the globe has health officials bracing for the highly contagious virus to hit communities in New York.

Earlier this year, New York City reported its first measles case as part of the outbreak, which has grown to 35 infections across 15 states in 2024. Last year, measles spread among more than 58,000 people across Europe and central Asia, resulting in thousands of hospitalizations and 10 measles-related deaths, fueling the ongoing outbreak in 2024, the World Health Organization reported.

In New York, the measles outbreak has yet to reach other parts of the state, but a high-profile outbreak in parts of the Hudson Valley and New York City in late 2018 and into 2019 underscored how quickly the virus can infect hundreds of people, with the unvaccinated at the highest risk.

What is NY's measles vaccination rate?

Rockland County health officials gave out free measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccines to residents at the Palisades Center on Dec. 11, 2018 during an outbreak of the highly contagious disease. Now, the community is bracing for another outbreak in 2024 amid rising global cases.
Rockland County health officials gave out free measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccines to residents at the Palisades Center on Dec. 11, 2018 during an outbreak of the highly contagious disease. Now, the community is bracing for another outbreak in 2024 amid rising global cases.

A total of 98% of Kindergartners in New York were up to date on their measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in 2020-21, the most recent federal data show.

But the vaccination rate among younger children varied widely across the state, revealing some counties faced a higher risk of struggling to contain a potential measles outbreak.

Measles outbreak: CDC issues alert that measles cases are up, urging health providers to watch for disease

The lowest vaccination rates based on percentage of kids who received one MMR dose by the recommended age 2 included:

  • Rockland County (54%)

  • Yates County (56%)

  • Jefferson (57%)

  • Orange (58%)

  • Sullivan (64%)

Some of those communities had lower vaccination rates due in part to large Amish and Orthodox Jewish populations, which include some groups that have historically resisted vaccination and been linked to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles.

At the same time, Westchester County's vaccination rate was about 75%, below the statewide average of 79%. Monroe County's rate of nearly 87% was among the highest in the state, with Cayuga and Clinton on top at 90%, respectively.

Florida defied CDC's measles recommendation. What is it?

Department of Health Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo leads a discussion with doctors and researchers while talking about the Cancer Connect Collaborative, an initiative spearheaded by Casey DeSantis to improve cancer research and treatment Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.
Department of Health Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo leads a discussion with doctors and researchers while talking about the Cancer Connect Collaborative, an initiative spearheaded by Casey DeSantis to improve cancer research and treatment Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that unvaccinated children exposed to measles be isolated for three weeks.

But Florida's surgeon general recently defied those rules, saying children's' school attendance was at the parents' discretion because of the “high immunity rate” and the burden of healthy children missing school.

During the 2019 measles outbreak in New York, clashes over Rockland County's emergency orders banning unvaccinated students from classrooms led to lawsuits. State lawmakers that year repealed religious exemptions for school vaccinations, citing in part the measles outbreak that resulted in more than 850 confirmed infections of the disease that was once declared eliminated 24 years ago.

What is NY doing to limit measles risk?

Local health departments are monitoring for measles cases and pushing MMR vaccination, including in Rockland County where authorities are using a mobile vaccination unit and inflatable trailer as part of its effort to promote vaccine access.

What is rule 2.13 in New York?

Heated political debate in Albany has focused on the state's infectious disease isolation and quarantine policies over the past year, with state Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, urging state officials to refrain from reissuing Rule 2.13 related to the policy.

The rule states: "For the purposes of quarantine orders, quarantine locations may include home quarantine, other residential or temporary housing quarantine, or quarantine at such other locations as the public health authority issuing the order deems appropriate, consistent with any direction that the State Commissioner of Health may issue," according to Poynter Institute's Politifact website

An appeals court last year dismissed Borrello's challenge to the measure, which he has asserted in part improperly allows health officials to isolate and quarantine New Yorkers without due legal process. During a budget hearing earlier this year, Borrello questioned state Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald about the issue, and McDonald said he had no plans to reissue rule 2.13.

Social media posts have described the measure as a means for creating quarantine camps, but several fact-checking websites, including the Politifact website, have debunked the claim, citing expert analysis of the state's policies.

Eduardo Cuevas of USA TODAY contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Measles outbreak 2024: Will it hit Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley?