During a press briefing on Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) said cases of measles in New York cannot be classified as an outbreak and urged the public to check their vaccination status.
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Listen to the scientists, the experts, and we put shots in arms and together we conquered the
00:06pandemic and saved countless lives. Much of that work was done because of the incredible, dedicated,
00:14underappreciated by many, the staff here at Wadsworth. And I want to thank them always for
00:20being on the front line during those dark, dark days and the sleepless nights and long,
00:25long months of research and making sure we had supply of our vaccinations, but also what they're
00:30doing now. And I want to thank especially Dr. Leonard Peruski, our director, and I want to
00:35recognize him for leading an incredible team here as well. I'm also joined by Dr. McDonald,
00:41our commissioner of health. I'll be introducing him momentarily, and Catherine Garcia,
00:45head of state operations. We're here today at Wadsworth because since the beginning of the
00:50year, New York has now reported four individual cases of measles. Now, this cannot be classified
00:57as an outbreak. We know how to handle this. We do not have another pandemic on our hands, but
01:03at this early stage, I thought it was important to sound the alarm to provide New Yorkers
01:08information and share our plan for stopping the spread of this disease any further.
01:14First, here are the facts. Like I said, we have four individual cases that we believe are
01:19unrelated, three in New York City, one in Suffolk County. Now, these numbers themselves are not
01:25inherently a cause for concern. And for example, in 2024, we had 15 cases, but nationwide, we're
01:32seeing very concerning trends, 350 measles cases around the country. 81% right now are part of an
01:40outbreak in West Texas. And of those sick in West Texas, three quarters are unvaccinated.
01:49And also of great concern to us as a border state to Canada, there are 350 cases reported since last
01:58fall in Ontario, literally right across the border from our state. So the good news is we're alert,
02:06we're vigilant, we're watching, but also we have the power to stop any outbreak. It rests in our
02:12hands. Now, the measles vaccine is remarkably effective. According to the CDC, two doses of
02:18the MMR vaccine have a 97% effective rate. And this is available to all. Now, children get the shots,
02:26but also if you're not sure if you had a shot when you were a child, you should see your doctor.
02:32Make sure that there's no danger in talking to your doctor about possibly getting immunized once
02:37again. And if you have your vaccination, the overwhelming evidence is that you'll be safe.
02:44It's the only thing to do. It's smart, it's responsible. For young people, the elderly,
02:49the immunocompromised, those are especially vulnerable individuals. So it's also not just
02:54protecting yourself similar to the COVID vaccine, it's about protecting your community. And this is
02:59what the doctor will be speaking about momentarily as well. I know vaccinations have for some reason
03:04become a very divisive topic in recent years. It pains me to think that in the year 2025,
03:11that we're still debating whether vaccinations are safe,
03:15when in fact the scientific evidence is overwhelming.