Narrative of Resolution:
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RESOLUTION INTRODUCED BY HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE FOR THE SULLIVAN COUNTY LEGISLATURE TO ACT AS LOCAL BOARD OF HEALTH AND TO ADOPT Public Health Order No.1-2023
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If Resolution requires expenditure of County Funds, provide the following information:
Amount to be authorized by Resolution: $0.00
Are funds already budgeted? No
Specify Compliance with Procurement Procedures: N/A
WHEREAS, The Metropolitan region of New York State, including Sullivan County, has seen a historic detection and resurgence of poliomyelitis; and
WHEREAS, The Metropolitan region of New York State, including Sullivan County has seen a significant rise in Pertussis; and
WHEREAS, New York State experienced the largest outbreak of measles since 1989 during the summer of 2019, and at least 19 confirmed cases were located in Sullivan County; and
WHEREAS, outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases frequently occur in areas where people are unvaccinated or under-vaccinated; and
WHEREAS, Measles is a highly infectious disease that may cause seizures, pneumonia, blindness, and death; and
WHEREAS, Polio is a life altering, deadly infectious disease which is extremely contagious and can lead to long term disability; and
WHEREAS, Sullivan County has positive detection of the polio virus via PCR testing as well as strain identifying sequencing with 13 samples identified in Sullivan County in 2022; 2 were collected in July, 5 were collected in August, 5 were collected in September, and 1 was collected in October; and
WHEREAS, Pertussis cases have continued to increase annually. Pertussis can result in seizures, brain damage and death; and
WHEREAS, Pertussis, Measles and Polio are all vaccine preventable diseases; and
WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been actively investigating the current resurgence in previously well controlled diseases in the United States as well as globally. Vaccine preventable diseases kill an estimated 1.5 million people world-wide each year; and
WHEREAS, there are over 170 permitted summer camps for children which operate in Sullivan County which increases the risk of infectious disease outbreaks significantly; and,
WHEREAS, Summer camps are congregate settings where communicable diseases such as measles, pertussis, polio and other vaccine preventable diseases can rapidly spread; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with New York State Public Health Law, the County Board of Health is authorized to adopt Public Health Order No 1-2023, which Order shall regulate attendance at summer camps for campers and staff based on evidence of all vaccines listed by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended Vaccine Schedule or a valid medical exemption pursuant to the State Sanitary Code; and
WHEREAS, required vaccinations include; Diphtheria and tetanus toxoid-containing vaccine and pertussis vaccine (DTaP or Tdap), hepatitis B vaccine, measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR), polio vaccine, meningitis vaccine, and varicella (chickenpox) vaccine; and
WHEREAS, an exclusion list of under and unvaccinated campers and staff must be kept on record for inspection by Public Health Staff in the event of an exposure to an infectious individual; and
WHEREAS, upon advice from the County Public Health Director, said Order is necessary and proper for the preservation of life and health, to reduce morbidity and mortality from preventable communicable disease, and to properly execute and enforce the New York State Health Law, including Section 2100, as well as other associated Rules and Regulations, including but not limited to those related to communicable diseases and outbreaks of diseases as defined in 10 NYCRR 2.2.
ORDERED, that a copy of this Public Health Order shall be posted at the children’s camps.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Legislature, acting in its capacity as the Sullivan County Board of Health, hereby adopts Public Health Order No.1-2023 to secure the safety, health and welfare of Sullivan County residents and visitors; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Public Health Order No.1 - 2023 shall be effective immediately upon adoption by the Legislature and shall continue in effect as a standing order; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Board of Health designates, at its discretion, four hearing officers; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, Robert Doherty, a member of the Board of Health, is hereby authorized to sign and issue subpoenas in accordance with Public Health Law Section 309.
Local Board of Health Public Health Order No. 1 - 2023
Children’s Camps
1. This Order shall apply to all camps operated within Sullivan County, in accordance with the New York State Public Health Law and Sanitary Code, 10 NYCRR 7-2.2, including summer day camps and children’s overnight camps.
2. That campers who have not received the required doses of and/or who are not serologically immune to the appropriate VPDs required by NYS for school entrance/attendance including, but not limited to, measles, polio and pertussis pose an imminent and significant threat to the public health and safety of the residents of and visitors to the County as well as a public health hazard and that their presence in children’s camps creates an unnecessary and avoidable risk of resurgent measles, polio, pertussis and other communicable disease outbreaks in Sullivan County and is therefore a public health nuisance.
3. All Children’s Camp Operators in Sullivan County, New York, which have applied to Sullivan County Department of Health for a permit to operate a children’s camp in accordance with 10 NYCRR § 7-2 et seq., must, as a condition of receiving a permit, take the following measures and precautions to prevent the further transmission of VPDs, remedy this public health hazard and imminent and significant threat to the public health and safety of the residents of and visitors to the County and suppress and remove said public health nuisance.
4. To reduce or eliminate the transmission of VPDs in Sullivan County including, but not limited to, measles, polio and pertussis, any children’s camp which has applied for a permit to operate in Sullivan County is required, as a condition of receiving a permit, to ensure that every camper maintains documentation that they received or will receive prior to the start date of the children’s camp all of the immunizations required by NYS for school entrance/attendance. For your convenience, a copy of the “2022-23 School Year New York State Immunization Requirements for School Entrance/Attendance,” which contains the requirements for prekindergarten through grade 12, is attached as Exhibit A to this Order. If you have any questions about the NYS requirements or about a particular child, contact Sullivan County Department of Public Health @ 845.292.5910.
5. Medical exemptions must be submitted to the children’s camp using the NYSDOH Medical Exemption Statement for Children 0-18 Years of Age (Form DOH-5077 (6/16)). For your convenience, a copy of the NYSDOH form is attached as Exhibit B to this Order. Verification of the validity of the medical exemption is the responsibility of the children’s camp operator.
6. In accordance with NYS law, non-medical exemptions are not permitted in schools. Therefore, pursuant to this Order, non-medical exemptions are not permitted in the children’s camp.
7. The current, complete immunization records, all health information and all medical exemption forms must be kept on file in the campers’ files in a safe, secure, confidential, HIPAA compliant manner and be available for inspection by SCDOH Staff upon request or audit.
8. No camper may participate in and/or enter the children’s camp unless the camper maintains documentation that they received or will receive prior to the start date of the children’s camp all of the immunizations required by NYS for school entrance/attendance.
9. There are allowances for entrance/admittance to camp for campers that are in the process of completing required vaccines (i.e., “in process” campers). Those campers must maintain documentation of at least the initial series of the vaccines. Once admitted provisionally, subsequent vaccines must be administered in accordance with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) “catch-up” schedule, which has been implemented by NYS, and is available at https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/catchup.html#table-catchup. For your convenience, a copy of the NYSDOH’s PowerPoint presentation entitled “Overview of 2022-23 School Year Immunization Requirements Public Health Law § 2164” is attached as Exhibit C to this Order. Alternative schedules are not permitted.
10. Campers who do not comply with the NYS vaccination requirements must be excluded from camp.
11. In addition, if campers are required to receive subsequent doses of the vaccines during the summer camp season in accordance with the ACIP “catch-up” schedule but they fail to do so, then those campers are no longer “in process,” and they also must be excluded from camp.
12. These exclusions will be effective until such time as this Order is no longer in effect as determined by the Public Health Director.
13. If, during an examination of campers’ immunization records, SCDOH Staff discover that the children’s camp is not in compliance with this Order, the children’s camp operator will have 72 hours or three days to remedy the issue and come into compliance.
14. Continued permission from SCDOH to operate a children’s camp is contingent upon compliance with the above requirements.
15. The failure to comply with this Public Health Order shall result in the denial of the Children’s Camp Operator’s permit application and/or suspension and/or revocation of the Children’s Camp Operator’s permit to operate a children’s camp and closure of the children’s camp until such time as there is compliance with the Public Health Order in accordance with 10 NYCRR § 7-2.
16. The failure to comply with this Public Health Order shall result in civil penalties and that each day of violation constitutes a separate and distinct violation subject to a civil penalty not to exceed the sum of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) per violation per day, as prescribed in Section 309 of the N.Y. Public Health Law of the State of New York.
17. The County Public Health Director is directed to undertake the actions necessary to enforce this Order.
18. This Order shall be effective upon adoption through September 30, 2023.
19. A copy of this Order shall be posted at the summer camps and filed with the New York State District Health Office.
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