Archive for category: COVID-19news

BREWSTER, NY—Due to the weather forecast, this Friday’s “Drive-Thru” flu clinic has been rescheduled to the planned rain date of Monday, October 19, at the same time from 1 to 6:30 p.m. The health department will provide vaccines to protect hundreds of residents from influenza at its office location at 1 Geneva Road in Brewster. Individuals who already have a scheduled appointment for Friday can keep that same appointment time on Monday. A new email confirmation for the rain date will be sent. If that time is not convenient on Monday, cancellations should be made via the Monday confirmation email. Appointments are still available for rescheduling and new registrants, and will be accepted until 6 a.m. on Monday, October 19.

Putnam County Sheriff’s Department staff will be onsite to assist with security and traffic control, and the Civil Air Patrol will help with crowd flow. Meanwhile behind the scenes, staff from the New York State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services will be on site watching with a keen eye. That is because the event also serves as a Point of Dispensing (POD) drill, a simulated test of Putnam’s local emergency response system with the ability to dispense medication smoothly and efficiently.

“The New York State Department of Health requires local health departments to perform yearly drills to maintain their preparedness capabilities,” states Connie Bueti, Public Health Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for the Putnam County Department of Health.  “Maintaining and practicing these capabilities are most critical, especially during a pandemic,” she states. Many metrics are monitored to assure the drill meets necessary objectives, including the “through-put” number, or how many residents receive their vaccine in a specified period of time. Utilizing an online pre-registration system was also a necessary component of this state-mandated exercise.

For more info or to register online as required, follow the instructions at www.putnamcountyny.com or www.putnamcountyny.com/health/immunization

Short sleeves are required to streamline vaccine administration and participants must wait 15 minutes post-injections. Carpooling is encouraged as well.

The mission of the Putnam County Department of Health, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB), is to improve and protect the health of the Putnam County community, composed of nearly 100,000 residents. Core services provided directly and through collaboration include community health assessment, disease surveillance and control, emergency preparedness, environmental health protection, family health promotion and health education. For more information, please visit our County website at www.putnamcountyny.com; or visit our social media sites on Facebook at www.facebook.com/putnamhealth and Twitter @PutnamHealthNY.

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Halloween is going to look a little different than usual, as with so much this year. The typical trick-or-treating and trunk-or-treating are considered high risk activities according to the CDC’s Halloween guidelines, however, there are still ways to have an enjoyable and fun Halloween. Lower risk activities to enjoy on Halloween can be done with your household members, or with friends, socially-distanced outside. Keep in mind, a Halloween mask does not replace a cloth face covering.

A festive neighborhood Halloween decorating contest topped off with a walk or drive-by parade is a fun lower risk activity. You can even incorporate a scavenger hunt to keep the kids on their toes. For festive  candy-free options, try a virtual costume or pumpkin decorating contest. For younger kids, schedule a not-so-scary movie night, complete with popcorn and other treats.

It can be hard to physically distance when partaking in traditional trick-or-treating or trunk-or-treating. But there are fun and creative ways to reduce person-to-person contact while getting into the tricky spirit of Halloween!

• Create a “candy graveyard”: Place bags of candy on sticks in the front yard.
• Make it a DIY family activity! Design a contactless delivery method. Try a basket on a pulley, or a PVC candy chute.
• Repurpose a household item: Turn a reaching tool into a candy grabber!

Make sure to wash your hands or use hand sanitizer frequently and wear a face covering if you are handing out candy.

If you decide to take your children trick-or-treating, stick with household members only, stay at least six feet away from other families and make sure that you and all children older than two are wearing appropriate cloth face coverings. Remember, a Halloween mask does not replace a cloth face covering. Along with the COVID specific precautions, the usual Halloween safety precautions should still be taken: Children should be accompanied by an adult and should have reflectors on their costumes so they can be seen by motorists. Have a great idea on how to keep Halloween safe and fun? Share it with friends and neighbors!