New York declares measles outbreak a "disaster emergency"

The governor of New York has said that rising cases of measles constitute a "statewide disaster emergency," the first such announcement since cases of the infection started to surge around the start of 2025.

The executive order issued by Governor Kathy Hochul cites an increase in measles in rural New York areas and neighbouring states, noting that there have been 108 cases reported among residents in 2026, 92 of them among "under-immunised, rural communities."

It directs the implementation of an emergency management plan that will give the state broader authority to coordinate swift testing and vaccination measures to contain the outbreak, which will extend until 4th November.

Those measures include expanding the network of healthcare professionals legally permitted to administer the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine to include pharmacists, paramedics, and midwives. At the same time, nurses are now authorised to order diagnostic testing for suspected measles cases.

Tracking has also been stepped up, and all MMR shots must now be reported to state registries within 72 hours.

"I am declaring a state disaster emergency to strengthen our ongoing efforts to confront this disease," Gov Hochul said.

"No one should get seriously ill or die from a vaccine-preventable disease. That is why I have taken steps to increase the number of health professionals who can vaccinate and test," she added. "These emergency measures will protect New Yorkers and support our community partners as they work tirelessly to address the spread of this disease."

Local health departments have administered more than 1,000 doses of the MMR vaccine across rural areas since mid-July, when cases started to accelerate in the state.

According to the CDC, there were 3,887 confirmed measles cases reported in the US in 2026 by 1st October, with 42 new outbreaks, up from 2,289 cases for the whole of 2025 and just 285 in 2024.

The federal agency has recorded two official deaths, although Pennsylvania – which has accounted for more than 1,000 of the total US cases – puts the number of fatalities in the state at five.

Those are not included in the official count due to an ongoing dispute between Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro and HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a well-known vaccine sceptic, who has questioned whether measles caused the deaths and presided over an upheaval in childhood immunisation policy.

Under his tenure, the CDC is no longer relying on reports from state health departments and is including only official death records tracked by its National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) in a departure from historical practices.

In a social media post yesterday, Shapiro – who has called Kennedy incompetent in the past – said that the HHS Secretary had called him to offer additional support to contain the Pennsylvania outbreak.

"I told him what would be most helpful is if he would join me in encouraging people to get vaccinated and stop spreading misinformation. He then launched into a tirade – talking about fetal tissue and blaming the previous Administration for this problem. He even told me it would be better if we went back to 'natural measles'."

He added: "Secretary Kennedy's actions to dismantle public health agencies and his language that undermines confidence in vetted medical guidance are contributing to these kinds of outbreaks."