“The announcement by the New York State and Rockland County Departments of Health that a resident has contracted polio is jarring given it is the first such naturally-occurring case our country has seen in over 40 years. According to reports, the patient is an unvaccinated resident of the Orthodox community.
“Earlier today, I was briefed by the Department of Health. I thank the state and county public health teams who are fully engaged – it is paramount we must take every meaningful action available to us in order to protect ourselves from any further spread of this dangerous virus.
“With that goal front-and-center, I am calling on the New York State Department of Health to require every Rockland County resident currently unvaccinated against polio be administered the series of shots. Similar imperatives were enacted – and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court – as states fought smallpox in the early 20th century. The polio vaccine is proven, safe, and time-tested: today’s news out of the Orthodox community requires this same, decisive action.
“Additionally, I am calling on the Department of Health to allocate whatever resources are necessary to expeditiously contact trace the virus and, in coordination with the Department of Education, review Rockland County school compliance with polio vaccine requirements – and bring the full force of the law down on those who have skirted these requirements. Some Ramapo yeshivas in Rockland County have a history of non-compliance with the state’s vaccine laws; proactive, additional enforcement is required in light of today’s news.
“In the year 2022, it is hard to believe we are talking about a polio case in our backyard yet, given the extremity of the situation, a proportional response is absolutely warranted and necessary to safeguard the community. Polio has been eradicated from the United States for decades. Today’s alarming news requires us to utilize every tool at our disposal in order to ensure we stop this virus in its tracks and eradicate it once more.”