MIGRANTS' POLIO RISK
No jab for half in city
A startling 50% of migrants streaming into the Big Apple are not vaccinated against the contagious and potentially deadly polio virus, city Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan recently revealed, as he urged doctors to help prevent a public health emergency.
Vasan also said the new migrants come from, or pass through, countries with high rates of infectious tuberculosis, and noted there have been outbreaks of chickenpox in shelters housing the newcomers.
“More than 50,000 people have come to New York City . . . in the past year shortly after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. As more people arrive and many make NYC their home, the scale and scope of need continues to grow,” Vasan said in a letter, dated April 11 to physicians and other health-care providers.
“I am writing now to underscore how critical it is that health care providers take a wide range of considerations into account when working with people who are seeking asylum.”
Vasan said screening and vaccinating migrants for diseases and viruses is a top priority.
“Vaccination rates for certain diseases are low in some of the most common countries of origin, with rates hovering around 50% for polio as an example,” he said.
The poliovirus spreads through person-to-person contact, lives in an infected person’s throat and intestines and can contaminate food and water in unsanitary conditions.
Paralysis is the most severe symptom of poliovirus because it can lead to permanent disability and death.
Jay Varma, who served as the senior health adviser to former Mayor Bill de Blasio, said the number of migrants not immune from polio is a cause for concern, but manageable.
“There is always a risk to public health when people are not vaccinated against important infectious diseases, such as measles and polio,” Varma told The Post on Sunday.
“That said, the risk is not immediate, since there are high levels of vaccination among children and adults among current New Yorkers,” he added. “As the commissioner says, it is critical that the city work to provide newly arrived persons with medical care, and ensure that health-care providers catch up newly arrived persons on their vaccinations, just as happens routinely for anyone accepted into the US through the regular immigrant or refugee-resettlement programs.”
The potential for outbreaks is one of many concerns for officials concerned about absorbing the migrant influx.
In the letter, Vasan said doctors should ask newcomers for their immunization records “but anticipate they may not be available,” adding any patient vaccine records should be entered into the Citywide Immunization Registry.
“Children should be screened and vaccinated urgently with all needed recommended immunizations, including those required for school attendance. Both influenza and COVID-19 vaccination should be offered to everyone age 6 months and older,” Vasan wrote.
He also said it was important to test for tuberculosis. TB is often contagious, although it’s not infectious in other parts of the body, such as the kidney or spine.
“Health-care providers should also assess all immigrants who recently arrived in the US for latent TB infection,” said Vasan.
The letter said migrants have been infected with chickenpox.
“An outbreak of varicella is occurring among families who recently arrived and are residing in . . . NYC. Most cases have been among unvaccinated children, but cases have also occurred among young adults,” the letter said.
“Vaccinate children and adults with no or an unknown history of varicella or vaccination urgently,” Vasan said.
He said because of the recent outbreak with migrants, chickenpox cases in shelters should be reported to the Health Department Provider Access Line. He also urged doctors to get migrants up to speed with COVID-19 shots.
“COVID-19 continues to circulate in NYC,” Vasan said.
“Some people may have received initial COVID-19 vaccinations at the U.S.-Mexico border, but may not have received additional immunizations in the U.S,” he wrote.