At the lower level of Ellenville’s Trudy Farber Center, county staff held a free vaccine clinic for everyone, regardless of age, insurance coverage, or immigration status. Reservations were recommended, but drop-ins were welcome.
The goal was to get out the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine amid the nationwide measles outbreak. The county already hosts vaccine clinics every first and third Wednesday at the county Department of Health in Kingston, but those are limited to residents with little or no insurance. When the state made more MMR vaccines available earlier this year, Ulster County scooped them up with the intention of distributing them outside Kingston.
“Sometimes it’s harder to get to healthcare facilities and things, so we try to bring the care to them," says Yolanda Brewster, a public health nurse with the county.
A recent report by the state Department of Health found Ulster County’s MMR vaccination rate for children age 2 is under 80 percent in some zip codes. Ellenville’s rate is 69 percent.
Patient Krista Kelly drove from Accord to get a booster shot. In Accord, the rate is just 57 percent.
“I also am in healthcare, and just thought that it was wise action on my part to take part [in] a county resource that they were making available to me," notes Kelly.
County Director of Public Health Eve Walter says she saw the Ellenville location as “low-hanging fruit” for the county’s first vaccine clinic outside Kingston: the Trudy Farber Center is owned by the county, and its staff has good connections with the community. But as it happens, she says seven people RSVP’d, and only two people, including Kelly, actually showed up.
“It’s still two people who didn’t have it before," says Walter. "But yeah, only two.”
There are perhaps a few reasons the clinic wasn't as busy as hoped: it was rainy, and Ellenville is in a remote area — although that was also kind of the point, to bring vaccines to a part of the county that’s not Kingston.
Walter says they're still looking into it, but it may simply be a combination of vaccine hesitancy and a lack of public awareness about what she says is a public health threat.
“I think that part of it is, this pressure we feel of getting people immunized is not necessarily universally felt," says Walter. "As much as this is in my life — we’re so aware of these communities who are experiencing a measles outbreak across the country — I’m not quite positive how commonly understood that is.”
Put another way: you can bring a horse to water — or, you can bring the water to it — but you can’t make it drink.
So far this year, there have been 13 confirmed cases of measles in New York, none in Ulster County. But Walter says there have been scares, and so far, the state is seeing more cases outside New York City than inside. Four cases have been confirmed in nearby Orange County alone.
“I think we really need to help these parents understand why this is so important," Walter continues. "I think it’s hard, because measles was never eradicated, but it was really [at one point], in the United States, really, really rare. I don’t know if your average person really quite gets yet how bad it could be if their child is exposed.”
Measles is an airborne virus that is highly contagious, and it can be especially dangerous for children under 5. Walter says the countywide vaccination rate is much higher once you look at ages 5 and up, but it’s infants and toddlers who are the most vulnerable.
Here’s what people should know: the CDC says measles symptoms can take up to two weeks to develop, and they can include a rash, cough, high fever, and more. Measles can also cause health complications that are potentially deadly, like pneumonia and encephalitis, especially in children under 5.
The CDC recommends kids get two doses of the MMR vaccine: one when they are 12-15 months, and another between the ages of 4 and 6. The Ulster County clinic also offered booster shots for vaccinated adults born between 1963 and 1967, because it’s possible they received a less effective measles vaccine in their early years.
That’s why Kelly decided to get her booster Tuesday. As a school nurse, she spends a lot of time working around children who are sick.
“It was very convenient," Kelly says of the clinic. "I appreciated the outreach, and that’s what helped me get this done for my health.”
Walter says Ulster County is not giving up. It plans to host more clinics in the future, once it regroups.
“We also may explore more targeted populations that may be at risk, for a variety of reasons," she adds. "So, we need to figure out how we should do this next.”
The county is still hosting its regular vaccine clinics in Kingston. Patients can get the MMR vaccine, the COVID shot, flu shot, Tdap vaccine, and more. Again, patients must be uninsured or underinsured to qualify, and appointments are necessary.
