New York child dies from measles in state’s first fatal case in 30 years

State officials announced Monday that a child in Lewis County, located in rural northern New York, has died from measles. This marks the state's first death from the disease in 30 years. Governor Kathy Hochul described the death as a "devastating reminder of what's at stake" regarding the erosion of vaccine protections.

The death occurs during an ongoing measles outbreak. In response to cases in rural New York and neighboring states, Governor Hochul declared a State Disaster Emergency in early October. This executive order expanded the pool of people authorized to administer vaccines to include midwives and paramedics, and allowed nurses to join doctors in ordering testing. The New York State Department of Health has offered Lewis County resources to assist with community outreach and local vaccination efforts.

As of October 24, New York had reported 178 measles cases this year, with 170 cases occurring outside New York City and 8 cases within the city. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed three measles-associated deaths in the U.S. this year, CityNews reports that state health departments have reported higher figures, including five deaths in Pennsylvania.

Brief written by urgent.news from Guardian Health, South China Morning Post, Winnipeg Free Press, CityNews, The Korea Times — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.