HEALTH DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES MEASLES CLINIC

NEW CITY, NY – – Rockland County Executive Ed Day and County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert inform residents that the Health Department will be holding a measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine clinic on Thursday, October 11 from 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm at the Spring Valley Family Planning clinic located at 14 South Main Street, 2nd floor (accessible by elevator or stairs) in Spring Valley. During this clinic, the health department will be offering non-immune residents who are 6 months of age through age 60 one dose of MMR vaccine at no cost. If you were born before January 1, 1957, you do not need to be vaccinated. The Health Department is encouraging and offering the community to be up to date with the MMR vaccine to help protect them in case of any future exposure to measles.

Individuals are considered protected or immune to measles if they were born before 1957, have received two doses of measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine, have had physician or provider-confirmed measles, or have a lab test confirming immunity. Individuals who are not immune to measles and were exposed are at risk for developing measles.

The single best way to prevent measles is to be vaccinated. If you are unsure if you are immune, contact your healthcare provider. Individuals should receive two doses of MMR vaccine to be fully protected. Typically, the first dose of MMR vaccine should be given at 12-15 months of age and the second dose should be given at four to six years of age (age of school entry), although individuals may also be vaccinated later in life. In New York State, measles immunization is required of children enrolled in schools, daycare, and pre-kindergarten. Since August 1990, college students have also been required to demonstrate immunity against measles.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus that is spread by direct contact with nasal or throat secretions of infected people. People first develop a fever, then may have a cough, runny nose and watery eyes, followed by appearance of a rash. People are considered infectious from four days before to four days after the appearance of the rash.

Symptoms include a fever, rash, cough, conjunctivitis or runny nose. Symptoms usually appear 10-12 days after exposure but may appear as early as 7 days and as late as 21 days after exposure.

To prevent the spread of illness, the Department is advising individuals who may have been exposed and who have symptoms consistent with measles to contact their health care provider, a local clinic, or a local emergency department before going for care. This will help to prevent others at these facilities from being exposed to the illness.

The MMR vaccine clinic is in response to an international traveler who has been confirmed to have measles flew through Newark Liberty International Airport on September 28, 2018 and visited multiple locations in New Square, potentially exposing others to measles from September 28 to October 1. The Health Department is hoping residents will take advantage of this free dose of MMR if needed to be up-to-date on vaccine guidelines.

The traveler arrived in Terminal B of Newark International Airport and may have traveled to other areas of the airport. Anyone who was in the airport on September 28 between 5:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. may have been exposed to measles. In addition, anyone who visited the following locations in New Square, New York may have been exposed to measles:

Bais Medrash of New Square, 11 Truman Ave, New Square

Sukkah adjacent to Avir Yakov Boys’ School, 766 N. Main St, New Square

Refuah Health Center,728 N. Main St, New Square

These times reflect the period that the infected individual was in these areas and a two-hour period after the individual left the area, as the virus remains alive in air and on surfaces for up to two hours.

If you were present at these locations during these times, and are in any of the following high-risk groups, contact your health care provider by phone right away:

The Health Department is asking all health care providers to immediately report all cases of suspect measles to the Rockland County Department of Health Communicable Disease Program staff by calling 845-364-2997 during normal business hours, or 845-364-8600 after hours/weekends. Health Care Providers can call this number for additional information.

More information about measles can be found at https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/2170.pdf.