Polio vaccine clinics in Rockland County after first U.S. case found in nearly a decade
POMONA, N.Y. -- Rockland County opened a polio vaccine clinic on Friday after the first case of the virus in the U.S. in nearly a decade was reported in Pomona.
A steady trickle of people, alarmed that a case surfaced in their community, filed into the Pomona Health Complex, CBS2's Christina Fan reported.
"Listen, I want every shot I can have that will keep me from dying," said Carol Messler.
Many of the 18 people who signed up were haunted by memories of the debilitating disease.
"I hired somebody who was in his twenties and he was running around on a scooter. Why? Because he had actually gotten polio. He's like one of the last to actually have polio and it drives home how serious this is," Todd Messler said.
Rockland County health officials opened the two-day clinic after detecting polio in an unvaccinated young adult.
The patient, who developed paralysis, is believed to have been infected by someone who had a live vaccine not available in the U.S.
"Based on the information that we received, we conduct surveillance testing to assess the situation," said Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert.
In addition to the public clinic, health officials are coming up with outreach ideas to target the unvaccinated.
Statistics show school district immunization rates in the county are high, between 96 and 99 percent. The focus is on getting younger ones their full series and making sure older residents are protected.
"We're at an age, as seniors, 70 and 69, where it's been quite a long time since we've had a polio vaccine," said another.
"We called the doctor and he told us that it was a good thing to do," another person at the clinic said.
Health officials said the clinic, which will open again Monday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., has more than a dozen appointments scheduled. But vaccines are readily available at health care providers across the county.
