Hochul Declares a Measles Emergency as Cases Rise in Rural New York
New York Times · LC · trust 41/100
The state has had 108 cases this year, the most since 2019. The declaration comes amid a national resurgence of the highly contagious viral illness.
Listen · 5:27 min Share full article Nearly 4,000 measles cases have been reported across the United States this year. Credit... Rachel Wisniewski for The New York Times By Joseph Goldstein
As of Saturday, 108 measles cases had been reported across the state this year, the most since 2019, when New York was the epicenter of a national outbreak. Most of the cases are in rural areas, concentrated in the Finger Lakes region.
Ms. Hochul’s declaration will relax rules about who can administer vaccines to make it easier for midwives, pharmacists and other health care workers to give shots to prevent measles.
“After reviewing the latest data on measles cases in New York State, I am declaring a state disaster emergency to strengthen our ongoing efforts to confront this disease,” the governor said. “No one should get seriously ill or die from a vaccine-preventable disease.”
The United States is experiencing a resurgence in measles , driven by declining vaccination rates, with case counts soaring in 2026. Across the nation, 3,887 cases have been recorded this year, by far the highest in more than 30 years. South Carolina and Utah have been especially hard hit, along with Pennsylvania, which has had more than 1,000 cases and five deaths , state officials say. The virus has torn through Amish communities where vaccination rates are especially low.
Three counties, including Seneca and Steuben, both in the Finger Lakes, account for about half of New York’s measles cases. Otsego County, best known for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, has had 20 cases this year, the most of any county.
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