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Congestion pricing and measles outbreaks are making national headlines. One could change the air we breathe, the other reminds us how tragic infectious disease outbreaks can be. Both have implications for New York. Here’s what you need to know.
Congestion pricing: It matters for your health
Manhattan’s congestion pricing is being debated at the federal level. While it makes its way through the courts, its downstream effects on New York City traffic directly and indirectly affect the health of New Yorkers.
There are significant benefits of reducing traffic through congestion pricing including:
Fewer traffic-related accidents
Safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists
Increased public transit, walking, or biking — increasing physical activity and overall health
Cleaner air
In other big cities, like London and Stockholm, congestion pricing programs directly reduced air pollution and improved health outcomes.
One potential conis traffic diversion. In 2022, MTA found congestion pricing could lead to a 2.5% increase in truck traffic in the Bronx, specifically on the Cross Bronx Expressway. Increasing pollution even slightly could worsen health disparities.
How does traffic affect respiratory health?
Children and adults who live near high-traffic areas are disproportionately exposed to air pollution, putting them at greater risk for respiratory conditions, like asthma.
Traffic air pollution includes a lot of particles, including fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (smog), that irritate and inflame lungs, can worsen asthma, and cause other chronic illnesses like heart disease. In New York, long-term exposure to PM2.5 (from traffic and other sources, like buildings and construction) is estimated to cause ~2,000 deaths from lung and heart disease each year — accounting for about 1 out of every 25 deaths citywide.
The impact is especially severe in high-traffic neighborhoods, like parts of the Bronx, where childhood asthma rates are among the highest in the nation.
New York City asthma emergency department visits (ages 4 and under) in 2020 by community district. (Figure from New York City Environment and Health Data Portal)
Monitoring changes in air pollution will be key
Last week, the New York City DOHMH released a plan to monitor and evaluate changes to air quality following congestion pricing implementation. In fact, baseline data was already collected from monitoring stations across New York City in 2024. The baseline will be compared to air quality data over the next two years to assess the impacts of congestion pricing.
When the first air quality report is released at the end of this year, I’ll be looking out for any significant increases or decreases in PM2.5 and ozone across neighborhoods in New York. I’ll also be keeping a close eye on changes in asthma rates in the next year. (When Stockholm implemented congestion pricing, asthma rates in kids decreased within the first 7 months.)
Congestion pricing could impact public health and everyday life — New Yorkers spend about 117 hours stuck in traffic every year. But to see its true effects, we depend on data. Careful tracking and analysis will be crucial to understanding the policy’s outcomes.
Measles tragedy in Texas and what that means for New York
Tragedy struck a Texas family last week when a child died from measles — the first U.S. measles death in a decade. The child was unvaccinated and otherwise healthy. The Texas outbreak is now up to 158 cases, with 20 children hospitalized, many of them with severe breathing issues.
Measles can spread like wildfire — one person can expose an entire room two hours after they’ve left it.
Across the Hudson River from NYC, Bergen County, New Jersey, has reported three measles cases in unvaccinated children. Before being diagnosed, at least one of the cases visited a hospital and spent time in the waiting room. Anyone who visited the Englewood Hospital Emergency Department on Feb. 9 between 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. may have been exposed and should contact their health provider immediately.
Thankfully, no new measles cases have been associated with the New Jersey outbreak in the past week, but unfortunately, that doesn’t mean we’re in the clear. Given how long it takes for measles symptoms to develop, potentially exposed individuals, if infected, could develop symptoms as late as March 6. We need to stay on high alert.
RFK Jr. shifts stance on MMR vaccine
Over the weekend, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. emphasized the importance of measles vaccination in an op-ed, stating that the “MMR vaccine is crucial to avoiding potentially deadly disease.” While there were parts of the op-ed that missed the mark, I was somewhat reassured to see our HHS secretary state so clearly the importance of vaccines as preventable measles cases and tragic outcomes continue to rise across the U.S.
While 98% of children in NYC have received two doses of the MMR vaccine by kindergarten, we have two vulnerabilities. Measles outbreaks occur at the community or school level, and we have some pockets of much lower vaccination rates. Also, coverage among younger children is significantly lower. Only 81% of children aged 24-35 months have received their first dose.
There have been two measles cases in New York City so far in 2025. Now is the time to check your child’s vaccination status. It’s the best way to protect them — and our communities.
Bottom line
Policies that govern public health are being debated on the national stage, shining a spotlight on issues facing us in New York. As congestion pricing and the measles outbreaks continue to evolve, tracking the data will be key to understanding their impact. I’ll keep my ears to the ground and break down what it all means for our health.
Love,
Your Local Epidemiologist
Dr. Marisa Donnelly, a senior epidemiologist with wastewater monitoring company Biobot Analytics, has worked in applied public health for over a decade, specializing in infectious diseases and emerging public health threats. She holds a PhD in epidemiology and has led multiple outbreak investigations, including at the California Department of Public Health and as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Marisa has conducted research in Peru, focusing on dengue and Zika viruses and the mosquitoes that spread them. She is Healthbeat’s contributing epidemiologist for New York in partnership with Your Local Epidemiologist, a Healthbeat supporter. She lives in New York City. Marisa can be reached at mdonnelly@healthbeat.org.
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The post What Congestion Pricing and Measles Mean for NYC’s Health appeared first on THE CITY – NYC News.
