Source: North Jersey.com
With the virus that causes polio circulating just over the border in New York State, the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) has recommended that some fully vaccinated people get polio boosters.
New guidance advises that health care providers should get a booster if they have contact with patients who might have polio or handle specimens from those patients. That would include people who work in urgent care centers, emergency departments, neurology offices and virology laboratories in Orange and Rockland counties in New York.
Sewage treatment workers — people with an “occupational exposure to wastewater” — should also consider a booster, the Health Department said.
So far, New Jersey has reported no cases of polio among residents, and wastewater samples have not shown evidence of poliovirus. Boosters currently are not recommended for people who simply travel to and from Rockland and Orange counties or New York City.
But people who have recently come from or plan to travel to countries where polio is endemic, or constantly present, should definitely get a booster. Currently, Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only countries on that list. Polio outbreaks also have been reported in Ukraine, Israel, and many countries in Africa.
Health experts urge people who have not had the full set of three polio vaccines to complete the series. Generally, children are vaccinated for polio at 2 months of age, 4 months of age, and between 6 and 18 months of age, with an additional dose when they are 4 to 6 years old.
Adults who are unvaccinated or don’t know their status should receive two doses spaced a month or two apart, followed by a third dose six months to a year later, according to the CDC.
Fully vaccinated people have almost complete protection against polio. The vaccine used in the United States is inactivated and does not contain a live virus that can infect others.
Based on local health department audits of kindergarten admissions, New Jersey’s polio vaccination rate is 97.7% statewide. By contrast, New York’s statewide averageis 79.0%, with month Rockland County’s rate of 60.3% and Orange County’s at 58.6% as of Aug. 1 of this year.