Oct 7 (Reuters) – New York Governor Kathy \u2060Hochul \u2060spoke with U.S. Health \u2060Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday, and \u200bhe offered federal support as the state responds to a measles \u200coutbreak, the Department of Health \u200cand Human Services said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Kennedy connected Hochul with \u2060Centers for \u2060Disease Control and Prevention Director Erica Schwartz, while federal \u200bhealth officials stand ready to support New York’s outbreak response, HHS said.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the Wall Street Journal’s Future of Health conference in Washington \u200bon Wednesday, Schwartz said Hochul had contacted Kennedy about the \u2060outbreak and \u2060that he gave her \u2060Schwartz’s \u200bcontact information. She did not provide further details.<\/p>\n
Hochul’s office and the \u200bNew York State \u2060Department of Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
New York declared a statewide disaster emergency over a measles outbreak earlier this week, seeking to expand access to vaccination \u2060and contain the spread of the highly contagious disease.<\/p>\n
The state reported \u2060108 measles cases through Oct. 3, including 92 cases reported since July 15 in under-immunized rural communities across 18 counties, according to the governor’s office.<\/p>\n
Schwartz recommended the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.<\/p>\n
CDC assistance has become politically charged under Kennedy, who has questioned measles-related deaths reported by states. Pennsylvania, with more than 1,000 cases this year, has resisted \u2060seeking CDC help after Kennedy disputed the virus’s role in deaths there in a heated social media exchange with Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro. Texas and Virginia have sought \u200bCDC assistance.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Sahil Pandey in Bengaluru; editing by \u200bCaroline Humer and Anil D’Silva)<\/p>\n
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