Monroe County Warns 100 People of Measles Exposure at Rochester ER as Vaccination Rate Sits at 86%
Updated
Updated · 13WHAM-TV · Sep 9
Monroe County Warns 100 People of Measles Exposure at Rochester ER as Vaccination Rate Sits at 86%
3 articles · Updated · 13WHAM-TV · Sep 9
Summary
Nearly 100 emergency-room patients may have been exposed after a person with confirmed measles visited Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester between 11 p.m. Monday and 2 a.m. Tuesday.
Monroe County health officials are contacting patients without documented immunity and telling them to watch for symptoms through Sept. 28, noting measles can remain airborne for up to two hours after an infected person leaves.
Companions who were not registered at the ER may be harder to identify, while officials said those who were signed in and do not receive a call are probably not considered exposed.
The warning comes as measles infections have been reported in Steuben, Seneca, Ontario and Yates counties; Monroe County has reported no cases since 2019.
Health officials tied the regional risk to falling vaccination coverage: Monroe County's MMR rate is 86%, below the 95% level needed to prevent outbreaks, while the two-dose series is 97% effective.
With national measles cases surging past 3,100 in 2026, could your recent ER visit silently expose you to a highly contagious airborne threat?
As local vaccination rates plummet below herd immunity levels, what hidden vulnerabilities are transforming our hospitals into potential outbreak epicenters?