379 People Vaccinated For Polio Across Rockland County In less Than A Week
Rockland County Department of Health (RCDOH) vaccinated 71 people against polio at the County’s first two clinics, in response to a case of polio in a resident confirmed last week by the CDC and NYSDOH – New York State Health Department. The ages of those vaccinated included 39 people over 65, 30 people ages 20 to 64, and two people under 20-years-old.
Countywide, 379 polio vaccines were administered to Rockland County residents since 7/21/22, including doses administered by RCDOH.
The next RCDOH polio clinic will be held Friday from 10 AM – 12 PM at the Pomona Health Complex 50 Sanatorium Road, Pomona (Building A). Rockland County residents can pre-register for a free appointment here or call 845-238-1956 to schedule. Walk-ins will also be accepted.
Those who are fully immunized are at low risk and the focus remains getting those unvaccinated or behind on their 4-dose polio vaccine series up to date with the vaccination. Circulation of this disease only happens or continues if overall vaccination rates remain low.
According to the New York State Department of Health, most Rockland County schools meet State vaccination requirements with at least 98% of students vaccinated against polio. Breaking down polio immunizations further, out of 144 public and private schools:
• 96% of schools are 90%+ immunized
• 3% of schools are 80-90% immunized
• <1% of schools are 79% immunized
On Monday, County Executive Ed Day met with Rockland BOCES Leadership, which agreed to send letters to school districts about vaccination requirements. Immunization information will be reviewed at the start of the 2022-2023 school year to ensure compliance in all schools, public and private, a conversation the County Executive already had with BOCES in the spring.
Earlier this summer, RCDOH also sent 3,000 letters to families whose children were not up to date with vaccinations.
Wastewater samples tested from Rockland County Sewer District #1 (which serves large portions of Ramapo and Clarkstown and some parcels of Orangetown) from June 2022, revealed detectable polio virus. This may have been from the singular confirmed case so the significance of this is unknown. It was NOT detected in the Orangetown Sewer District area during the same period.
Currently, the County, NYS and CDC are continuing to collect and conduct tests of wastewater samples to determine if the virus is circulating. This determination may take time. Results will be disclosed as they become available.
