Tell Governor Hochul to Stop Grandstanding and Focus on Real Emergencies

On October 5, Governor Hochul declared a “state of emergency” in New York because of 108 measles cases in a state that’s home to 19 million people. Calling this a state of emergency seems far more related to politics than to public health, as the emergency order expires on November 4, the day after midterm elections.

One of the most urgent health crises is the autism epidemic, now affecting approximately 38,800 individuals in New York diagnosed with the condition. Autism is a serious, lifelong disorder that impacts entire families and communities beyond those with the diagnosis.

In her executive order, Hochul suspended ten laws, mostly concerning purchasing procedures, allowing the governor to buy goods with no-bid contracts, and broadening the list of who can give measles shots to include pharmacists, EMTs and midwives.

The executive order also suspends the requirement for adults to consent to have their vaccination status included in a state registry when they receive vaccines, an assault on medical privacy rights long sought by the pharmaceutical industry and others who profit from vaccines.

In the press release announcing the executive order, State Senator Gustavo Rivera, Chair of the Senate Health Committee, said, ‘”The concerning rise in measles cases is due to a decrease in childhood vaccines driven by misinformation and is causing a public health emergency.” Neither the New York State Department of Health nor the CDC have data to support Rivera’s unfounded assertion.  

No child who has not had at least two MMR shots is allowed to attend school in NY, there are no exemptions for religious or other reasons of conscience, and the number of medical exemptions is half of what it was five years ago.

Autism has increased by 3-4,000 children per year for the past 30 years, but New York doesn’t even bother to keep thorough records, much less declare a state of emergency for this devastating condition. 

Measles, on the other hand, is most often a benign infection of short duration, considered during modern times as nearly a rite of passage – up until Pharma developed a vaccine for it and realized profits could be maximized by inducing public fear.

Contact Governor Hochul, the New York state legislature, and your U.S. Congress members to urge that the current “state of emergency” be rescinded and the focus shifted to the actual health crisis in our midst: the exploding number of New York’s autism cases.