Tioga County (NY) health officials reported on Friday that an unvaccinated resident tested positive for measles. A department representative has told WSKG it has completed contact tracing and notified anyone who might have come in contact with the person.

In a statement released Thursday, the health department said to protect the patient’s privacy, it is not releasing any more details about the person’s identity.

Source

Steuben County is also reporting a case now.

This will probably not go over well but it’s just a thought. There have always been antivaxers in this Country for various reasons and I’m not disputing the importance of vaccination. However, has any thought been given to the millions upon millions of people who crossed our borders during the last administration in numbers fever seen before? I’m talking about the caravans and more of people coming from around the World. No idea who they were, no idea of their health status, their vaccination status? How many of them are unvaccinated? Just my opinion.

47 minutes ago, Ann said:

This will probably not go over well but it’s just a thought. There have always been antivaxers in this Country for various reasons and I’m not disputing the importance of vaccination. However, has any thought been given to the millions upon millions of people who crossed our borders during the last administration in numbers fever seen before? I’m talking about the caravans and more of people coming from around the World. No idea who they were, no idea of their health status, their vaccination status? How many of them are unvaccinated? Just my opinion.

The one in Tioga County is a legal citizen. I can’t speak for the Steuben County one, but based on what I know, I’d feel safe saying there are similarities between the two.

That’s all I can say about it.

I wouldn’t pin it on any one group, including those here illegally, given there’s no vaccine requirements for short term travelers to the U.S.

Sure there’s always been a fringe group of anti-vaxxers, but it’s becoming more and more common. As a result, childhood vaccination rates are dropping in the U.S. since 2020 and will likely continue to do so. Expect to see more of this 🤷‍♂️

1 hour ago, Chris said:

The one in Tioga County is a legal citizen. I can’t speak for the Steuben County one, but based on what I know, I’d feel safe saying there are similarities between the two.

That’s all I can say about it.

I wouldn’t pin it on any one group, including those here illegally, given there’s no vaccine requirements for short term travelers to the U.S.

Sure there’s always been a fringe group of anti-vaxxers, but it’s becoming more and more common. As a result, childhood vaccination rates are dropping in the U.S. since 2020 and will likely continue to do so. Expect to see more of this 🤷‍♂️

I was not implying that it was illegals who had measles. I was simply wondering if the up tic in measles had more behind it than simply not vaccinating.

I have two concerns about the vaccine debate. 

First...is the language that increasingly defines “anti vax” more broadly. 

Second, that redefined language is being used to stifle and polarize reasonable conversations about the development (and increasingly stricter mandates) of vaccines that have proliferated since the 1980s when federal legislation began establishing immunity protections to shield manufacturers from liability. 

Yep, the fringe conspiracy folks have been around a while. As have the Amish folks with deep religious objections to any/all modern medicine. 

But at some point, any degree of hesitancy, skepticism and/or concerns about arbitrary mandates has been folded into the category of “anti vax nutjob”. So anyone with any questions should be ostracized, shamed and banned from participating in society. 

In most cases, I believe vaccines are an effective option to prevent serious infectious diseases. And since they are effective....I think vaccinated people dedicate way too much time and mental stress to unvaccinated people that pose no threat to them.  Let Darwin be Darwin.

24 minutes ago, MsKreed said:

28 minutes ago, MsKreed said:

I have two concerns about the vaccine debate. 

First...is the language that increasingly defines “anti vax” more broadly. 

Second, that redefined language is being used to stifle and polarize reasonable conversations about the development (and increasingly stricter mandates) of vaccines that have proliferated since the 1980s when federal legislation began establishing immunity protections to shield manufacturers from liability. 

Yep, the fringe conspiracy folks have been around a while. As have the Amish folks with deep religious objections to any/all modern medicine. 

But at some point, any degree of hesitancy, skepticism and/or concerns about arbitrary mandates has been folded into the category of “anti vax nutjob”. So anyone with any questions should be ostracized, shamed and banned from participating in society. 

In most cases, I believe vaccines are an effective option to prevent serious infectious diseases. And since they are effective....I think vaccinated people dedicate way too much time and mental stress to unvaccinated people that pose no threat to them.  Let Darwin be Darwin.

Word on the street is that the measles cases are Amish or Mennonite. The groups that don't participate anyway.

I agree with you on Darwins theory. I'm a big fan of you do you and I will do me. I'm not telling anyone what they should do regarding vaxxines.

I also agree with Ann on the immigrants could potentially be bringing these things in. If folks are not vaxxing then yea, you might catch it. Many immigrants are migratory farm workers and may be working side by side with Amish/Mennonite. I think they have to have vaccines if they are going through the legal process to work the farms but quite a lot of them have not done that

30 minutes ago, MsKreed said:

Let Darwin be Darwin.

I tend to agree, if only because trying to argue the point is useless anymore.

My main issue is the proselytizing from those who are against vaccines, namely the spreading of patently false information after they “…did my own research.”

4 minutes ago, KarenK said:

I think they have to have vaccines if they are going through the legal process to work the farms but quite a lot of them have not done that

This seeking a green card have to have a series of vaccinations including MMR, Polio, Tdap, etc.

It gets a little muddy when searching for vaccine requirements for short term visitors/ tourists because the focus is more on immigration than tourism. But it appears as though there’s no need for proof of vaccinations such as the above, they’re simply recommended.

Which I take to mean it’s just as likely a person traveling here from Europe or Asia could have been the source regionally as someone who crossed from Mexico in Arizona. Perhaps possibly more likely given our proximity to so many international airports and tourist attractions such as NYC or Niagra Falls.

16 minutes ago, Chris said:

I tend to agree, if only because trying to argue the point is useless anymore.

Unless it's someone close to me that I had a personal reason to care....I've never seen how there'd have been any benefit to arguing the point in the first place.

21 minutes ago, KarenK said:

I'm a big fan of you do you and I will do me. I'm not telling anyone what they should do regarding vaxxines.

Exactly.

Just like I'm not telling an obese diabetic coworker that they should lay off the carbs. It's not affecting me if they want to gorge themselves on deep dish pizza and wash it down with a 2-liter coke every day.

You do you....and deal with your own consequences.

21 minutes ago, MsKreed said:

You do you....and deal with your own consequences.

I have a friend who, during COVID, often declared the whole thing was a hoax to “control us.” And when he got it, it set off a series of health issues that really effed him up. He’s better now, but still has residual effects.

Asked if, knowing what he knows now, would he would have gotten the COVID vaccine, he didn’t even hesitate to say no. Even recently, when telling us about how it REALLY messed up a family member, it was “the Fauci virus.”

There’s no convincing someone they’re wrong and no need to try. There’s also very little sympathy to be had; you played the odds and lost 🤷‍♂️

I feel bad for the kids that suffer the ill effects of their parents’ decisions, but then that can be said across the board, not just regarding vaccination.

Not very local to Elmira but there’s a confirmed case up here in Otsego County as well; also an unvaccinated person

10 hours ago, MsKreed said:

Let Darwin be Darwin.

except instead of embracing Darwinism or the you do you approach is fine in theory( i generally subscribe) however, they find a new-found love/trust of the modern healthcare system once exposed/infected or adversely affected. essentially using precious, finite resources better used on others who need, ill dare say, Deserve.

Stupid is supposed to hurt as pain is a great teacher; sadly though, more often than not, the pain is inflicted on those NOT in need of the lesson

Edited August 20Aug 20 by ADAM

friends with funny beards and recent attendance of livestock auctions is being looked at for the recent outbreaks in the area

20 minutes ago, ADAM said:

friends with funny beards and recent attendance of livestock auctions is being looked at for the recent outbreaks in the area

Makes sense to me as this is the Season when the cultures are more apt to associate at such venues .

Note , not singling out the Culture described, but I do agree that the Border crisis of the last Administration did contribute to , not in whole maybe , but certainly in part .

11 hours ago, Hal said:

I do agree that the Border crisis of the last Administration did contribute to , not in whole maybe , but certainly in part .

I’m sure there’s a variety of factors, and illegals likely contribute some small amount. But, there isn’t much evidence that they’d be any more likely than someone travelling to/from another country. Since Amish aren’t big on plane travel, they’re a little more likely to come in contact with migrant farmers, but could still encounter some legal foreign visitor and be exposed.

11 hours ago, ADAM said:

except instead of embracing Darwinism or the you do you approach is fine in theory( i generally subscribe) however, they find a new-found love/trust of the modern healthcare system once exposed/infected or adversely affected. essentially using precious, finite resources better used on others who need, ill dare say, Deserve.

Stupid is supposed to hurt as pain is a great teacher; sadly though, more often than not, the pain is inflicted on those NOT in need of the lesson

I get having the urge to have that sentiment.  I really do.

After years in and around corrections....I know how many staff (from all departments and disciplines) need to constantly “remind” themselves that, no matter how egregious or depraved the inmates’ past mistakes may be, they’re supposed to get the same level of care as any decent, innocent human. Even if the “past mistake” was you watching them viciously attack your coworker just a few minutes ago. 

Just like it's natural to wonder if the life of a drunk driver deserves to be saved while their victims are being transported to the morgue.  

That instinct probably never goes away, but things like introspection, counseling, prayer, meditation, etc can be vital in helping with the age-old internal struggle of separating a patient’s “deservedness” from the job description (and vocational pledge) that requires equal treatment regardless of worthiness.

I suppose at this point, we should be relieved that measles cases rarely develop serious symptoms that require medical resources.  If this were tuberculosis instead of measles, then it’s time for medical professionals to buckle up.

Edited August 20Aug 20 by MsKreed

5 hours ago, MsKreed said:

After years in and around corrections....I know how many staff (from all departments and disciplines) need to constantly “remind” themselves that, no matter how egregious or depraved the inmates’ past mistakes may be, they’re supposed to get the same level of care as any decent, innocent human.

Yeah this was a difficult one when I was in health care, but not impossible.

5 hours ago, MsKreed said:

I suppose at this point, we should be relieved that measles cases rarely develop serious symptoms that require medical resources.  If this were tuberculosis instead of measles, then it’s time for medical professionals to buckle up.

This right here is what concerns me the most about the anti-vaccine, anti-mask, "It's all a hoax" keyboard warrior crowd. If someday, God forbid, something really bad comes along, they could very well contribute to making the outbreak worse. I swear to God some of them could be bleeding out of their eyeballs from Ebola and still go around saying it's all B.S.

5 hours ago, MsKreed said:

Since Amish aren’t big on plane travel, they’re a little more likely to come in contact with migrant farmers, but could still encounter some legal foreign visitor and be exposed.

16 hours ago, Hal said:

Makes sense to me as this is the Season when the cultures are more apt to associate at such venues .

To clarify, Spring through Summer and into Fall is the time period the Amish attend County Fairs, Livestock Shows and Auctions . Is beyond the realm of possibility and is it just coincidence that the recent outbreaks of Measles have been in Rural areas ? As you have seen the things you mention over your Career in Corrections , I have seen in a lifetime in the Agricultural world of Very Close Contact between Amish , normally unvaccinated according to which Sects they belong , and the Non Amish at Many of these venues I mentioned. Now , please correct me if I am wrong in my thinking that during the whole Southern Border Crisis the Illegal Immigrants were transported , by our Government, from that point of origin to Many , Many Different Locations across the U.S . And again is it not reasonable to say they were/are some Vectors of , not just Measles , but other diseases that we had under control up to that point ?

Again just clarifying my , probably not well worded , point.

I don't think anything can be ruled out, just as nobody can legitimately look at one group and say they are the sole source of an outbreak.

Unvaccinated illegal immigrants, Amish or any religious group, foreign tourists, etc., they're all as likely as the next. Or perhaps none of those and it was an unvaccinated U.S. citizen who traveled aborad and brought it back with them, introducing it to one of the aforementioned groups.

By the way, some Amish DO get childhood vaccinations, but the overall vaccination rate is lower than non-Amish.

I looked to see the MMR Vaccine rates by county in NY and found this:

You get an unvaccinated, foreign tourist stopping at an Amish produce stand in Yates County... well, there ya go.

Jefferson County is kind of interesting to me. It's also low, which I would have expected more for it's neighbor to the north, St. Lawrence County. Must be the areas like Potsdam, Ogdensburg and that are populated and vaccinated enough that they make up for a good sized Amish population there.

Steuben County Public Health is investigating a second confirmed case of measles in an unvaccinated resident.

Steuben County Public Health was notified of the positive result on August 21, 2026. The resident began showing symptoms on August 13, 2026, safely isolated at home, and iA considered no longer contagious. To protect resident/patient privacy, additional details will not be released.

Potential public exposure site(s) have been identified, and the Health Department is reaching out to those who may have come into contact with the case.

This is to be expected 🤷‍♂️

A fourth Steuben County resident tested positive for measles this week.

On Friday, the Steuben County Public Health department announced in a statement that it is investigating two new cases of the virus in unvaccinated residents.

The health department said one of the cases was identified as a contact of a previously reported case of measles. The two residents started showing symptoms on Aug. 23 and Aug. 24, respectively, but the health department said it was notified of the positive results late Thursday and Friday.

The new cases bring the total number of confirmed measles infections in the Southern Tier to six, with one case in Tioga County and another in Otsego County. All the residents who tested positive were unvaccinated.

Source

Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state disaster emergency Monday in response to the measles outbreak across rural areas of New York.

The declaration comes as Steuben County reported its 17th case on Tuesday.

Health departments in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions have seen pockets of measles cases erupt since August.

“After reviewing the latest data on measles cases in New York State, I am declaring a state disaster emergency,” said Gov. Hochul in a press release. “No one should get seriously ill or die from a vaccine-preventable disease.”

Hochul declared a state of emergency to expand the number of health professionals who can administer the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine to include paramedics, advanced EMS providers, midwives and pharmacists.

The order affords the flexibility for nurses to order measles testing as well.

Source