Gov. Kathy Hochul issued the executive order, which increases resources available for the state to combat viral spread, after a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sequence analysis found polio in a wastewater sample collected in August from Nassau County.
The virus has also been detected in wastewater samples from neigboring Orange and Sullivan counties, as well as those from New York City. All of the reported samples include types of poliovirus that can cause paralysis, according to the state Department of Health.
Hochul’s emergency order immediately expands the network of providers who can administer polio vaccines to include emergency medical workers, midwives and pharmacists. It also authorizes physicians and certified nurse practitioners to issue non-patient specific standing orders for polio vaccines.