Free Measles Vaccine In Rockland Tuesday As Cases Inch Up

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — As of Monday, Dec. 10, There are 91 confirmed cases of measles in Rockland County as well as eight suspected cases that the Department of Health is continuing to investigate. Health officials are holding a free measles vaccine clinic at the Palisades Center Mall from 3-6 p.m. Tuesday.

Measles has broken out in 26 states. New York has more than half the cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In addition to Rockland's massive outbreak, there have been 39 confirmed cases of measles in the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, NYC health officials reported Dec. 5.

The Rockland County clinic will be held indoors, near Bed Bath & Beyond, on the first floor in the West Court of the Palisades Center, closest to Parking Lot A. During this clinic, the Health Department will be offering non-immune individuals who are 6 months of age and older one dose of MMR vaccine at no cost.

Rockland Announces Free Measles Vaccine Clinic

The Best Buy at the mall was one of three recent public places in the county where an infected person went.

Measles is highly contagious. The virus is hearty, and can live for up to two hours in an airspace where an infected person coughed or sneezed. And people who have measles can spread it from four days before a rash appears to four days after it has cleared.

Measles can be dangerous, especially for babies and young children, as it can lead to pneumonia, brain damage, deafness and death. Others who are at high risk for complications if they get the measles include pregnant women who are not immune, as well as those who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed (when your body can't fight disease).

About one out of four people who get measles will be hospitalized.

Symptoms can include a fever, rash, cough, conjunctivitis and runny nose. Symptoms usually appear 10-12 days after exposure but may appear as early as seven days and as late as 21 days after exposure.

Visit the Measles Information section of the Rockland County Department of Health website for background information.

SEE ALSO:

• Measles Exposure In Rockland County, Newark Airport
  
• Measles Outbreak: 20 Cases; Unvaccinated Kids Must Stay Home
  
• Measles Outbreak Worsens; More Restrictions In Rockland

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