Stop saying there’s a polio emergency | News, Sports, Jobs – Alpena News
Posted By admin on October 6, 2022
No, polio is not a threat to the vast majority of Americans. Thats because the vast majority has received a very effective polio vaccine. And thats also why public officials should stop turning a concern centered on a few under-vaxxed communities into everyones problem.
But Gov. Kathy Hochul did just that when she declared a polio state of emergency in the state of New York. The announcement made the national and international news, portraying New York as the center of a new disease outbreak, just as the state was still digging out of the pandemic slowdown.
Heres the real story: Wastewater samplings have revealed some traces of polio virus in vaccine-resistant pockets of the state mainly the community of Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Rockland County. The low vaccination rates in the Amish farmlands on the states Southern Tier have also been noted.
An unvaccinated young Hasidic Jewish man was stricken with the dreaded paralysis associated with the disease. This is the first and so far, only such polio case in the country in a decade.
That personal tragedy doesnt constitute a state or national emergency. Polio shots are required for admission to public and most private schools almost everywhere in the U.S. Thats why the disease had almost disappeared.
Experts in the spread of polio dismiss the idea that a handful of cases in rich, highly vaccinated countries with good sanitation are a threat to the larger public. Nicholas Grassly, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London, has been trying to tamp down fears of polio in places like New York.
Grassly has followed evidence of the virus in Orthodox communities in London, greater Jerusalem and Rockland County. There is a risk we will end up reporting one or two cases in London, he told Science magazine, evidently trying to head off panicky conclusions should that happen.
Virologists say they are far more worried about polios spread in parts of Africa where vaccination rates are low and sanitation is very poor.
As for the United States, the evidence of the polio virus in wastewater samplings does not herald COVID, Part II. Early on there was no vaccine against COVID, and the virus went on to kill thousands. All one could do for protection was wear masks, sanitize hands and avoid others. The COVID shot changed everything. It prevented serious disease. It freed us.
Right-wing disinformation and general ignorance promoted anti-vaccine sentiment. The original anti-vaxxers, however, were largely affluent white progressives in Marin County, California, and similar oases of natural living. (This group has apparently come to its senses, and now Marin has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country.)
Those of us who took care of business during the pandemic soon felt armored against stories of dying COVID patients wishing they had gotten vaccinated. With shots being waved at them seemingly from every street corner, sympathy did not flow easily.
These COVID patients burdened Americas emergency departments at great expense to the public. They hogged medical resources, forcing people with cancer and heart disease to put off treatment.
As for the polio vaccine, the four doses required for school enrollment provide 99% protection against the disease. And 99% of New Yorks schoolchildren are vaccinated for polio.
And so where is the polio health emergency? Saying it exists ignores the broad public compliance with vaccine mandates and the easy availability of the shots. It creates unwarranted fears. And by making it everybodys problem, it downplays the importance of responsible behavior that is, getting vaccinated. Polio is now largely a self-inflicted disease.
The best reason for not declaring an emergency, however, is that there isnt one.
Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com.
Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
The rest is here:
Stop saying there's a polio emergency | News, Sports, Jobs - Alpena News
- Hasidic Judaism | Encyclopedia.com - November 26th, 2023
- Pro-Palestine protesters plan to 'flood' Brooklyn -- near Hasidic Jewish site: 'The louder we will be' - New York Post - October 29th, 2023
- Hasidism: An Overview | Encyclopedia.com - October 18th, 2023
- Plans to form Viznitz Hasidic village in Sullivan County halted by ... - Times Herald-Record - October 18th, 2023
- Rough Diamonds Gets the Details of Hasidic Life Right, but Fails to ... - Mosaic - October 18th, 2023
- I left the Hasidic world three years ago. This time of year, I dearly miss it - Forward - October 8th, 2023
- Democrat congressional candidate and former member walks back calling Kevin McCarthy's meeting with Hasidic le - Daily Mail - October 6th, 2023
- I'm A Queer Woman Who Left My Marriage In The Hasidic Community. Theres One Thing People Don't Understand. - HuffPost UK - September 30th, 2023
- Hasidic Judaism - Wikiwand - September 24th, 2023
- Hasidic | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary - September 22nd, 2023
- Hasidic rapper Moshe Reuven is making history - Unpacked - Jewish Unpacked - September 22nd, 2023
- Yeshivas refusal to enroll a 10-year-old pits a Hasidic father against a non-Hasidic mother - Forward - September 22nd, 2023
- List of Hasidic dynasties and groups - Wikipedia - September 12th, 2023
- Hasidic rockers Why Evolution Is True - Why Evolution Is True - September 12th, 2023
- I led an antisemitism training for workers in a labor dispute with their Hasidic bosses. Heres what I learned - Forward - September 12th, 2023
- Hasidim | Encyclopedia.com - September 5th, 2023
- What Hasidic Boys Learn, An Enlightening Conversation with Moshe ... - CrownHeights.info - September 5th, 2023
- New Hasidic song slams yeshivas that reject students who dont fit in - Forward - September 5th, 2023
- Rap group Three 6 Mafia arrives on TikTok with videos of Hasidic ... - The Jewish News of Northern California - August 22nd, 2023
- Hasid - Wikipedia - August 16th, 2023
- Viznitz Hasidic group petitions for village in Thompson, Fallsburg - Times Herald-Record - August 6th, 2023
- Cardi B Stirs Controversy Tweeting Photo of Hasidic Jews After ... - Algemeiner - August 6th, 2023
- Hasidic life in Uman: A journey across Ukraine to the Tomb of Rabbi ... - Milwaukee Independent - August 6th, 2023
- THE HASIDIC KOPPLE Comes to the Cameri Theatre This Month - Broadway World - July 9th, 2023
- Hundreds protest Hasidic pilgrimages to Haifa monastery - The Times of Israel - June 25th, 2023
- The Belzer Rebbe Has Created A Program To Support Ex-Hasidic Jews - Jew in the City - June 10th, 2023
- The Hasidic Community's Reckoning Over COVID-19 - The Atlantic - May 22nd, 2023
- How the haredi Orthodox are changing Israel - May 22nd, 2023
- When One Parent Leaves a Hasidic Community, What Happens to the Kids? - May 22nd, 2023
- Hasidic Judaism - May 9th, 2023
- Hasidic Movement: A History - May 9th, 2023
- Hasidic philosophy - May 9th, 2023
- Suspect arrested in assaults on Hasidic Jewish men in Outremont - Montreal Gazette - April 22nd, 2023
- Hasidic Judaism Rules & Customs | What Does Hasidic Mean? | Study.com - March 28th, 2023
- How Public Money Goes to Support a Hasidic Villages Private Schools ... - February 25th, 2023
- How the Hasidic Jewish Community Became a Political Force in New York - February 25th, 2023
- Ashkenazi Hasidim - Wikipedia - February 17th, 2023
- What Is Chabad? | My Jewish Learning - February 11th, 2023
- Payot - Wikipedia - February 4th, 2023
- Anti-Hasidic bias claimed in suit over 2,600-home Lost Lake project - January 2nd, 2023
- Why Do Hasidic Jews Dress So Differently? - Seeker - December 27th, 2022
- Hasidic School Is Breaking State Education Law, N.Y. Official Rules - December 11th, 2022
- Zeldin Sees a Path to Becoming Governor. It Runs Through Brooklyn. - December 11th, 2022
- Jeff Wilbusch left his Hasidic community at 13. Now he's exploring his ... - December 11th, 2022
- Hasidic School to Pay $8 Million After Admitting to Widespread Fraud - December 7th, 2022
- Developer claims anti-Hasidic bias in suit over thwarted housing plans - December 7th, 2022
- In Hasidic Enclaves, Failing Yeshivas Flush With Public Money - The New ... - December 7th, 2022
- New York Hasidic School Admits to Benefit Fraud Conspiracy, Agrees to ... - November 6th, 2022
- Mother of 10 says her kids didn't learn basic reading, math, science at ... - November 6th, 2022
- Upsherin - Wikipedia - November 6th, 2022
- Why The New York Times translated its Hasidic yeshiva investigation ... - October 17th, 2022
- Im not Hasidic, but an afternoon in Williamsburg deepened my appreciation of Sukkot - Forward - October 17th, 2022
- A food truck at Duke University offers a truce to rising tensions on Mideast politics - Religion News Service - October 17th, 2022
- A More Perfect Mediocracy by Liel Leibovitz | Articles - First Things - October 17th, 2022
- Where do Hochul and Zeldin stand on education? - Chalkbeat New York - October 6th, 2022
- How concierge IV therapy went from Instagram trend to pre-Yom Kippur hydration hack - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - October 6th, 2022
- War-torn Ukraine prepares for mass arrival of Hasidic Jews to Uman - September 27th, 2022
- Thousands of Hasidic Jews defy travel warnings by making New Year ... - September 27th, 2022
- Wanted for slapping Hasidic man in unprovoked attack - New York Daily News - September 27th, 2022
- The Civic Duties of Hasidic Schools | Cole S. Aronson - First Things - September 23rd, 2022
- A formerly Hasidic mom who sued her sons yeshiva will head nonprofit advocating for secular education - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - September 23rd, 2022
- Letters to the editor | | tulsaworld.com - Tulsa World - September 23rd, 2022
- No Soul Is Safe in Teaser Trailer for the Jewish Folklore Horror Film THE OFFERING GeekTyrant - GeekTyrant - September 23rd, 2022
- I read a secret transcript of Hasidic sex advice. Ive read worse. - Forward - August 12th, 2022
- South Blooming Grove finishes review of 600-home Clovewood project - Times Herald-Record - August 12th, 2022
- Jewish perspectives on abortion diverse, often oversimplified | News, Sports, Jobs - Williamsport Sun-Gazette - August 12th, 2022
- Groundbreaking album breathes new life into nearly abandoned Jewish musical art - Forward - August 12th, 2022
- Synagogue plan rejected in Haverstraw; RLUIPA litigation threat looms - The Journal News - August 12th, 2022
- Mormons are being oppressed and mocked on TV. We're not alone. - Religion News Service - August 8th, 2022
- Lufthansa will create a position to fight antisemitism after kicking more than 100 Hasidic passengers off a flight - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic... - July 31st, 2022
- What sort of Yiddish did Jews in Hungary speak? - Forward - July 31st, 2022
- What the Polio Case in New York Tells Us About the End of Polio - Kaiser Health News - July 31st, 2022
- Rockland County police searching for white Ford F-150 truck in connection to recent attacks on Hasidic Jews - CBS New York - July 19th, 2022
- De Blasio quits crowded race for Congress in heavily Jewish district - Forward - July 19th, 2022
- Jewish group sues Long Island beach town over turning its worship land into a lifeguard center - Washington Times - July 19th, 2022
- Progressives Have Abandoned Haredi Children - Jewish Currents - July 16th, 2022
- At this Yiddish music festival, tradition is everything and nothing J. - The Jewish News of Northern California - July 16th, 2022
- How American Jews (stayed) white | David E. Bernstein | The Blogs - The Times of Israel - July 14th, 2022
- At a Yiddish music festival in bucolic Massachusetts, tradition is everything and nothing - Forward - July 14th, 2022
- This couldnt happen anywhere: How coverage of the shooting failed Highland Park - Forward - July 10th, 2022
Comments