New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a statewide disaster emergency on Monday over a measles outbreak, as cases of the disease continue to rise across the United States.
Hochul said the declaration temporarily expands the ability of health professionals to administer measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines. The order will remain in effect through November 4.
"No one should get seriously ill or die from a vaccine-preventable disease," Hochul said in a statement.
New York has recorded 108 measles cases this year as of October 3, according to Hochul. Seven of those cases were recorded in New York City, with 101 elsewhere in the state. Of the total, 92 cases have been recorded since July 15, concentrated in a handful of rural communities with insufficient vaccination rates.
The declaration marks the first such emergency measure since measles cases began rising in 2025.
In neighboring Pennsylvania, officials announced the state has surpassed 1,000 measles cases this year, the largest outbreak in the United States in three decades. The Pennsylvania outbreak has killed five people. Outbreaks have also been recorded in Texas, Utah, Ohio, and South Carolina.
Health experts attribute the resurgence to a decline in vaccination rates below the 95 percent threshold considered necessary to prevent outbreaks.
Critics say the decline has been driven by an anti-vaccination movement that has gained advocates within the administration of President Donald Trump, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The United States had eliminated the domestic spread of measles by 2000. The last outbreak of more than 1,000 cases occurred over several years in New York City in the early 1990s.
International officials from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) are set to meet in November to determine whether the United States and Mexico will retain their measles-free status, or whether those public health designations will be revised.
"PAHO reiterates the importance of maintaining high and homogeneous vaccination coverage, strengthening epidemiological surveillance, and ensuring timely outbreak response, as essential pillars to halt transmission and sustain measles elimination in the countries of the Americas," the organization said in a previous statement.
