NEW YORK DECLARES DISASTER EMERGENCY OVER MEASLES OUTBREAK

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a statewide disaster emergency on Monday in response to a measles outbreak, marking the first such declaration by a US state since cases began rising in 2025. The governor's office said the state has recorded 108 measles cases this year through 3 October, with 92 of those reported since 15 July across 18 counties experiencing under-immunised rural communities. Seven cases were recorded in New York City, with the remaining 101 elsewhere in the state, according to the governor's office. Hochul said in a statement that no one should become seriously ill or die from a vaccine-preventable disease. The order, which took effect on Monday and runs until 4 November, expands the range of health professionals permitted to administer MMR vaccines.

Under the order, registered nurses can now order tests for suspected measles cases, and pharmacists can vaccinate children as young as two. Local health departments have administered more than 1,000 MMR doses in affected rural areas since 15 July, the executive order said. All MMR vaccinations must now be reported to state or New York City immunisation registries within 72 hours, though vaccination itself still requires consent from the patient or a legal guardian. Neighbouring Pennsylvania is dealing with a separate outbreak that had reached 977 cases and five deaths as of 2 October, according to the executive order, mostly concentrated in rural counties bordering New York.

Pennsylvania health officials said on Monday that the state's total had surpassed 1,000 cases, describing it as the largest state-level outbreak in more than three decades. Nationally, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded nearly 3,900 measles cases this year, which officials describe as the worst year for the disease in the US since 1991. New York's emergency order remains in place until 4 November.