Rabies vaccines dropped for raccoons in parts of New York City and Long Island, earlier than usual 

Rabies vaccine is being dropped in bait for raccoons earlier than usual as a growing number of rabid animals are being found in parts of Brooklyn, Queens and on Long Island, local health departments said Wednesday.

New York City has also resumed dropping the vaccine bait in areas near the Nassau-Queens border, a program that had been suspended last year due to a lack of dedicated funding but has since been restored, according to city health department spokeswoman Chantal Gomez. 

The vaccine baits, which raccoons eat in a fish cake, are usually dropped in the fall, but the health department carried out the program from April 22 through Wednesday due to the heightened number of infections, the department said in a news release. There is fall baiting planned as well, the department said.

Nassau is also baiting along a similar time frame, according to county health department spokeswoman Alyssa Zohrabian. Its current program is to end Friday.  

Both the city and Nassau programs are being undertaken weather permitting. Placing the bait during inclement weather could lead to them being washed away, Zohrabian said.

Suffolk health department spokeswoman Grace Kelly-McGovern said the county hadn’t begun yet but is doing surveillance to decide when to start. It’s expected for sometime August or September, she said.

Kelly-McGovern said there were four cases discovered this year in Suffolk. The county hadn't detected a rabid raccoon in Suffolk since 2009.

In the city, the focus is on areas of Brooklyn and Queens with previous infestations and new areas of southern Brooklyn, the release said.

So far this year, 11 raccoons — six from Queens, two from Brooklyn and three from Staten Island — have tested positive for rabies. Of those in Queens, four were found in the eastern part of the borough, close to the county line with Nassau, according to a map posted on the city health department website. 

Newsday reported earlier this  month that before last summer, Nassau County hadn't had a rabies-positive raccoon since 2016. Nassau’s bait would be placed in the woods, in storm drains and in streambeds. 

Thirteen cases were documented in Nassau as of earlier this month in 2025 and six in 2024.

Rabies can be fatal and is typically spread to pets and humans through scratches or bites from an infected animal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 60,000 Americans annually get medical care following a potential exposure. 

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.