Hochul's measles disaster emergency expands who can vaccinate as cases climb past 110

New York's statewide measles disaster emergency is now a week old, and on Monday State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald used a Gothamist interview to spell out what the order actually changes — and why he says the outbreak did not have to happen.

Gov. Kathy Hochul declared the emergency on Oct. 5 under Executive Order 65. It runs through Nov. 4 and expands who may administer measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines to include paramedics, advanced EMS providers, pharmacists and midwives, while allowing nurses as well as physicians to order measles testing, according to the governor's office and CBS New York.

Case counts and where they are

As of Oct. 3, the state reported 108 measles cases in 2026 — seven in New York City and 101 in the rest of the state — including 92 since July 15 among under-immunized rural communities in 18 counties, the governor's office said. McDonald told Gothamist on Monday the statewide total had risen to about 110, more than twice last year's full-year count. He pointed to Oswego, Seneca and Steuben counties among the hardest hit and said the heaviest concern is in western, central and northern New York, not the city.

Local health departments have administered more than 1,000 MMR doses in rural areas since mid-July, the governor's office said; McDonald put the figure above 1,200 in the Gothamist interview and described "kitchen-table" outreach in which local staff vaccinate people at home.

What the emergency order does

Besides widening the pool of vaccinators and testers, the order requires MMR vaccinations to be reported to New York State or New York City immunization registries within 72 hours and suspends the usual requirement that adults consent before those registry reports, NBC News reported. Vaccination itself still requires consent from the patient or a legal guardian, according to NBC News. The state also launched a measles dashboard so the public can track local risk, CBS New York reported.

McDonald said roughly two of three current cases are in adults and reminded New Yorkers between 18 and 69 to confirm they have received two lifetime MMR doses, because school-entry rules do not cover that age group. He called measles "almost 100% preventable" with the vaccine first licensed in 1971 and said about one in five known cases are ending up in a hospital.

"What's been going on the last two years in the United States is not normal," McDonald told Gothamist, citing nearly 2,400 U.S. cases in 2025 and nearly 3,700 so far this year. Neighboring Pennsylvania is fighting a large outbreak that had passed 1,000 cases, NBC News reported, with rural counties that border New York among those affected.