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Rockland Health Commissioner Provides Update on Measles Exposure at Nyack Hospital
John Meore, [email protected]

Forty-two people have recently been exposed to the measles virus at Montefiore Nyack Hospital, Rockland County Health Commissioner Patricia Schnabel Ruppert said Friday.

The exposures included 11 children, four pregnant women and 20 people whose vaccination status was unknown, said Ruppert at a free vaccination clinic in the village of Haverstraw.

Seven other people exposed to the hospital were born before 1957, which indicatesthey are immune because they have probably been exposed to the virus in their childhood.

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Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert, Rockland County Health Commissioner, briefs the press on people exposed to measles at Nyack Hospital during a measles immunization clinic (MMR) at the WIC office in Haverstraw on Friday, April 5, 2019. (Photo: John Meore / The News Journal)

"Nyack did a great job in informing these people … Everything is managed very, very well," said Ruppert.

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Nyack Montefiore Hospital spokeswoman Lauren Malone said anyone who may have been exposed was contacted.

"We immediately shared this information with the Rockland County Health Department and the New York State Department of Health," she said.

Ruppert has repeatedly recommended that anyone with measles symptoms – rash, fever, runny nose, watery eyes and coughing – contact their health care provider or local health center or bathroom. emergencybefore making a visit to protect others.

In total, 167 measles cases have been reported since the beginning of the Rockland epidemic last October, when an Israeli traveler had visited the county.

Most cases occurred in the Orthodox and Hasidic Island communities of the Monsey and Spring Valley area.

The outbreak prompted March 26th of the county's governing day to proclaim a state of emergency, barring unvaccinated children from visiting indoor public spaces.

Ruppert said last week that 17,654 people had been vaccinated against measles, rubella and mumps (MMR) since the start of the epidemic in October – a figure that would have increased by nearly 700 since the declaration of the state of emergency. The Friday clinic in Haverstraw has attracted only a handful of adults looking for recalls.

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Epidemics in the United States forced officials to declare emergencies. Why are we starting to see the rise of these epidemics? This goes back to the anti-vax movement.
Just the FAQ, USA TODAY & # 39; HUI

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