New York state reports first measles-linked death in over 30 years

The New York State Department of Health announced on Monday that a child in Lewis County had succumbed to measles, marking the state’s first known measles-linked death in more than three decades. In response to this devastating development, Governor Kathy Hochul declared a State Disaster Emergency last month, encompassing regions of New York and surrounding states.

The state health department has extended support to Lewis County, providing assistance for community outreach and bolstering vaccination initiatives to combat the ongoing measles outbreak. This grim milestone coincides with the United States grappling with its most severe measles resurgence in decades. Hochul conveyed to Reuters in October that the state would seek federal aid to effectively curb the outbreak, though she did not confirm whether a formal request had been submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Epidemic Intelligence Service, or Epi-Aid.

According to state health officials, they are collaborating with county health departments and local stakeholders to administer measles, mumps, and rubella vaccinations to unvaccinated individuals who express interest, while concurrently investigating reported cases. The US Department of Health and Human Services, at the behest of New York, has dispatched epidemiologists and other experts to collaborate with state health officials on the ground, offering surveillance, data analysis, strategic planning, and other vital outbreak response support.

Currently, the CDC has documented three measles-related fatalities this year, although they have not specified the states where these tragic incidents transpired. Pennsylvania has emerged as the focal point of the outbreak this year, reporting a staggering 1,433 confirmed cases and five measles-associated deaths thus far in 2023.

The disparity in numbers can be attributed to a policy shift under US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has instructed the CDC to rely on the National Centre for Health Statistics' mortality data to track measles deaths, superseding its previous dependence on state health departments' figures.