Hochul's measles emergency order lets paramedics, pharmacists and midwives vaccinate

Hochul framed the order around which health workers are allowed to give shots and run tests. "That is why I have taken steps to increase the number of health professionals who can vaccinate and test," she said ^[5]. State Health Commissioner James McDonald's message to the public was different. He urged residents to check their vaccination status and make sure their families are protected, while department staff work with local health departments and regional partners to monitor and contain the outbreak ^[13].

The case counts are floors, and they come from populations of different sizes. New York reports more than 100 cases, Pennsylvania over 1,100, and the nation more than 4,000, almost twice 2025's total ^[6][7][2]. Without per-resident rates, those figures cannot rank New York against Pennsylvania.

The state vaccination figure needs the same care, because its definition matters. A single shot is 93 percent effective and a second raises that to 97 percent ^[10]. A rate that counts one dose leaves the state further from the 95 percent immunity the WHO says herd protection needs than a rate that counts two ^[9].

The figures do not show whether capacity or willingness is the limit in Otsego, Seneca and Steuben counties, where caseloads are among the highest ^[6]. State Senator Gustavo Rivera, who supported the order, gave his own account of the cause: "The concerning rise in measles cases is due to a decrease in childhood vaccines driven by misinformation and is causing a public health emergency." ^[11]

We think the order is a sound response if clinicians are scarce in those counties, and a weak one if families are declining shots. With no comparison counties, a rise in coverage after Nov. 4 would not separate the new vaccinators from anything else that changed in the same weeks.