{"id":366092,"date":"2026-10-06T18:42:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T18:42:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/366092\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T18:42:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T18:42:19","slug":"rabies-vaccine-baiting-begins-on-staten-island-after-past-exclusion-from-nyc-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/366092\/","title":{"rendered":"Rabies vaccine baiting begins on Staten Island after past exclusion from NYC program"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Staten Island is now part of the city\u2019s latest rabies vaccination<\/a> effort after being excluded from another round of baiting earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Starting this week, a low-flying helicopter will distribute oral rabies vaccine baits over parks, wooded areas and less populated sections of the borough, according to the New York City Health Department.<\/p>\n

The baiting began Oct. 5 and is expected to continue through mid-October, weather permitting. The Health Department is coordinating the effort with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and NYC Parks.<\/p>\n

Staten Island has recorded 14 confirmed rabies cases this year, including 11 raccoons and three skunks, according to data from the New York City Health Department.<\/a> <\/p>\n

The 14 confirmed rabies cases on Staten Island represent nearly half of the 29 cases across New York City in 2026.<\/p>\n

The borough\u2019s inclusion comes after it was excluded from an oral rabies vaccination campaign<\/a> conducted in Brooklyn and Queens in May. At the time of that effort, Staten Island had recorded 12 of the city\u2019s 27 confirmed animal rabies cases, the most of any borough.<\/p>\n

The Health Department previously said the May campaign focused on Brooklyn and Queens in response to a growing cluster of rabid raccoons across Long Island. The goal was to prevent the virus from spreading into new areas.<\/p>\n

The agency also said baiting locations were selected based on the risk of transmission within a particular population and location, rather than only the number of cases recorded during the previous six months.<\/p>\n

At the time, Borough President Vito Fossella<\/a> criticized Staten Island\u2019s exclusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to anything serving the public good, the City leaves Staten Island out,\u201d Fossella said.<\/p>\n

He called the vaccination program \u201ca vital health precaution for Staten Islanders\u201d and described the borough\u2019s exclusion as \u201cunacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Health Department later confirmed that it planned to conduct oral rabies vaccine baiting on Staten Island in the fall.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cRabies is a serious disease that can be fatal, and our efforts to vaccinate raccoons against rabies protect New Yorkers, their pets, and the city\u2019s wildlife,\u201d NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister F. Martin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Yorkers can do their part, too, by keeping their pets up to date on rabies vaccinations and maintaining distance from our city\u2019s wildlife,\u201d Martin continued. \u201cWe urge New Yorkers to call 311 if they see an animal behaving erratically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brooklyn and Queens are also included in the latest program. In those boroughs, the baits will be tossed by hand and placed in fixed bait stations in several parks and wooded areas. The effort is intended to limit the spread of rabies among wild animals while protecting residents and their pets.<\/p>\n

What the baits look like <\/p>\n

The small, brown baits are fish-scented and resemble ketchup packets. Each contains a small amount of pink liquid vaccine.<\/p>\n

Raccoons are attracted to the scent and become immunized against rabies when they chew the bait.<\/p>\n

Residents who encounter the baits should leave them alone. If a bait is found in an open area where children or pets could reach it, the Health Department recommends using gloves or a plastic bag to move it deeper beneath trees or bushes.<\/p>\n

People and pets cannot contract rabies from the baits, according to the Health Department. Although the baits are not harmful to pets, consuming several may cause vomiting.<\/p>\n

Residents should not try to remove a bait from a pet\u2019s mouth because they could be bitten or exposed to the liquid vaccine. In extremely rare cases, contact with the liquid may cause a rash. Anyone exposed should wash their hands with warm, soapy water, inform a healthcare provider and call the NYC Poison Center at 212-POISONS, or 212-764-7667.<\/p>\n

Rabies safety precautions<\/p>\n

Rabies is a fatal but preventable viral disease that infects the central nervous system and can spread through the bite of an infected animal. In New York City, it is found mostly in raccoons, although infected raccoons can occasionally transmit the virus to other animals, including cats and skunks.<\/p>\n

The Health Department advises residents to avoid touching or feeding wildlife and stray animals, keep garbage tightly sealed and stay away from animals that appear sick, unusually friendly or aggressive.<\/p>\n

Pets should be kept current on their rabies vaccinations, leashed outdoors and not left outside unattended.<\/p>\n

Residents should call 311 to report sick animals and 911 if an animal attacks or appears likely to attack.<\/p>\n

Anyone bitten or scratched should immediately wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water and seek medical care. Animal bites can be reported to the city\u2019s Animal Bite Unit at 646-364-1799 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. At night or on weekends, residents can call 212-POISONS at 212-764-7667.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Staten Island is now part of the city\u2019s latest rabies vaccination effort after being…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":366093,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-366092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=366092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/366093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}