Health officials report
New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett, announced Friday, that Polio has been detected in the NYC wastewater, suggesting circulation of the virus. The Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan states, “The risk to New Yorkers is real but the defense is so simple — get vaccinated against polio, with polio circulating in our communities there is simply nothing more essential than vaccinating our children to protect them from this virus, and if you’re unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated adult, please choose now to get the vaccine. Polio is entirely preventable and its reappearance should be a call to action for all of us.”
This announcement came after a man in Rockland County, N.Y., was stricken with polio and left paralyzed. It is feared that more cases will soon come forward. Most adults were vaccinated for polio as children but, the rate has fallen slightly since the pandemic. Many children were not vaccinated for the virus. Officials are pushing for those that have not been vaccinated to go ahead and do so.