The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has
sent a team to Rockland County to probe the nation’s first case of polio in
nearly a decade.
Local health officials announced a local unvaccinated adult
had contracted polio in July.
The virus was also found in
waste water samples in Rockland
and Orange counties. Officials believe there are now hundreds of cases
of polio based on these waste water samples found.
CDC will also be helping the county with vaccination
efforts.
In New York, all
children in school are required to have the polio vaccine.
“It’s a horrible, horrible disease and the answer to
stopping it is in our hands,” says County Executive Ed Day. “It’s by getting
vaccinated, especially our little ones.”
He urges all unvaccinated adults and children to get
protected against the virus by getting vaccinated.