NY slammed for sending trucks with 'polio is spreading in Israel' signs to Orthodox areas

The state has curbed mobile billboards that declare "Polio is Spreading in Israel" after elected officials and Orthodox Jewish leaders said the polio vaccination campaign smacked of antisemitism.

The billboard trucks, employed on the cusp of Passover, had been seen cruising through Rockland and other areas of the state with large Orthodox Jewish populations.

"After hearing feedback that mobile van ads intended to reach New Yorkers in their communities could be interpreted as blaming the communities themselves for the spread of polio, the department immediately pulled those ads," said Sam Miller, associate commissioner for external affairs at the New York State Department of Health.

Polio was detected for the first time in decades in July 2022 in Rockland County, when a 20-year-old man was permanently paralyzed by the virus. He had never been vaccinated against polio.

The Health Ministry of Israel confirmed this month that four children had been diagnosed with polio, including an 8-year-old who was paralyzed by the virus in February.

The state and alerts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have listed concerns about Israel, as well as England, Ukraine and other international locations where wastewater testing has detected the polio virus is active.

Rockland County spokesperson Beth Cefalu said county officials were unaware of the billboards until a reporter contacted them. She called them "insensitive."

Miller said the health department "remains committed to serving New York’s state’s diverse communities, and we strongly condemn antisemitism."

The state Health Department said the LED trucks cruised through Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Nassau and Rockland, where many travelers to Israel for Passover are likely to live. The routes were ended Monday.

'Worried to stand next to us'

Lieby Breuer of Wesley Hills said the issue isn't using a truck to spread important health information. It's the focus on just one country and one community: Israel and Orthodox Jews.

"This is targeting us in an improper manner," said Breuer, who is Orthodox. "It's getting our local neighbors to be afraid to associate with us, worried to stand next to us in the grocery line."

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During a 2018-2019 measles outbreak in Rockland, and then when COVID rates rose rapidly in the county in spring of 2020, Jewish community leaders warned that their community was being stigmatized.

Travel concerns for holidays

Polio is stealthy and potentially deadly: Nearly three-quarters of people who get it are asymptomatic; about 25% may get flulike symptoms. Less than 1% could have the most severe effects, including permanent paralysis, meningitis and death.

The state Health Department has urged a one-time polio booster shots for vaccinated people traveling to places where polio is circulating.

People who are unvaccinated, or parents who have delayed vaccination for their children, are urged to start the polio series before travel. Even a single dose to start the cycle will offer protection, health officials say. Two doses offer 90% protection. Full vaccination against the virus is considered nearly 100% effective at stopping illness from the virus.

With Passover starting the evening of April 5 and continuing through April 13, increased travel is expected between New York and Israel, state and Rockland officials have said, and there is a real risk of spread of poliovirus among people who are unvaccinated.

Travel in general is expected to soar next week, with most schools in the region closed for spring break and an easing of COVID concerns.

The state's polio travel awareness campaign also includes ads in Jewish newspapers, synagogue newsletters and digital searches.

"We will continue to work with our partners to stop the spread of a once-eradicated disease that causes preventable, life-threatening paralysis,” Miller of the DOH said.

Meanwhile, Rockland County Executive Ed Day said on Wednesday that he planned to again write to President Biden and urge regulations to mandate all visitors to the U.S. show proof of vaccination. "Require all visitors to this country show proof of vaccination for vaccine preventable diseases before being allowed entry into the United States," Day said, "as was similarly implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Nancy Cutler writes about People & Policy. Follow her on Twitter at @nancyrockland.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Billboards warning polio in Israel sent to NY Orthodox Jewish areas