New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a statewide disaster emergency on Monday in response to a measles outbreak, expanding the authority of health professionals to test for the disease and administer vaccines.
The state reported 108 cases through October 3, including seven in New York City and 101 elsewhere. According to the governor’s executive order, 92 cases had been recorded since July 15 in under-immunized rural communities across 18 counties. The total exceeds the state’s typical annual case count.
The emergency order allows registered nurses to order tests for suspected measles and permits pharmacists to administer measles, mumps and rubella vaccines to children as young as two. It also requires MMR vaccinations to be reported to state or New York City immunization registries within 72 hours. Adults’ consent for that reporting is waived, but vaccination still requires consent from the patient or a legal guardian.
Local health departments have administered more than 1,000 MMR doses in rural areas since July 15, according to state officials. Hochul said the response was intended to prevent serious illness and death from a vaccine-preventable disease.
The order also cites an outbreak in neighboring Pennsylvania, where officials reported 977 cases and five deaths as of October 2. Pennsylvania health officials said on Monday that its case count had passed 1,000, making it the state’s largest measles outbreak in more than 30 years. Many cases were reported in rural counties near the New York border.
Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported nearly 3,900 measles cases this year, the country’s highest annual level since 1991. New York’s declaration is the first statewide disaster emergency tied to the rise in measles cases that began in 2025. The emergency took effect Monday and remains in place through November 4, under the terms of the executive order.