Three weeks ago, a man in Rockland County, New York was diagnosed with polio, the first US case in nine years. Unvaccinated against the virus, the man is now paralyzed. Today, New York City health officials announced that they've found the virus in sewage. That means it's likely circulating throughout the city. From the New York Times:
The spread of the virus poses a risk to unvaccinated people, but a full, three-course dose of the vaccine provides at least 99 percent protection[…]
"The risk to New Yorkers is real but the defense is so simple — get vaccinated against polio," Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the New York City health commissioner, said in a statement. "With polio circulating in our communities, there is simply nothing more essential than vaccinating our children to protect them from this virus, and if you're an unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated adult, please choose now to get the vaccine."
"Polio is entirely preventable and its reappearance should be a call to action for all of us," he added.
While the polio virus had previously been detected in wastewater samples in Rockland and neighboring Orange Counties, the announcement on Friday was the first sign it had been found in New York City.
