EAST AURORA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Since January of this year, the U.S. has seen upwards of 1,100 cases of measles. A large majority happening right here in New York state, something Governor Andrew Cuomo is trying to slow down with a recently-passed law that ends religious exemptions for vaccines.
"It went from zero to an epidemic overnight everyone is rushing to put some type of law into place to make sure this doesn't become a bigger problem," Managing Partner at Tully Rinckey, Anthony Kuhn, said. The firm specializes in various things including Special Education Law. He says over the past month, his firm has gotten an uptick in calls over the issue.
The fight against measles and other diseases is going a step further in East Aurora Schools.
The East Aurora Union Free School District will comply with Public Health Law, which requires all students who attend public, private or parochial schools to present proof of immunization, unless a student has a valid medical exemption. As such, the District will not provide transportation to students unless they are immunized or have a valid medical exemption.
About 60 students in East Aurora Schools will be impacted.
"This is, I think, one smart strategy to try to protect the students from exposure not only in the classroom, but also on the school bus from vaccine preventable diseases," Erie County Commissioner of Health Dr. Gale Burstein said. She suggests those who may still be uneasy about vaccinating their child to speak with their primary care provider.
