BREWSTER, NY— Services at the Putnam County Department of Health are in high gear…and about to get even busier. Clinical staff have been meeting the increased demand for travel vaccines this summer, and now they are gearing up for fall community and school-based flu clinics. However, flu shots are not the only immunizations that need to be considered. Childhood vaccines are important as well. A family’s healthcare provider is the most valuable resource to help ensure children stay healthy. Certain childhood vaccinations are required for attendance in New York State and should be completed within the first 14 days of school.  

“While flu vaccines and other childhood vaccines continue to be widely available throughout Putnam County at pharmacies and healthcare practices,” said Public Health Director Rian Rodriquez, MPH, “our health department nurses will also be out in the community, providing flu vaccines at all public schools and at three public immunization clinics on the east and west sides of the county for residents over the age of 18. Childhood vaccines can also be made available at the health department when needed.”  

Scheduling information for the school-based flu clinics is distributed by the individual schools. The three public clinics for adults are set for Monday, September 28, at the Carmel Fire Department, followed by one at the Garrison Fire Department, on Wednesday, October 7, and the last back at the Carmel Fire Department on October 19. Each begins at 2 p.m. and ends at 6 p.m. Online registration is encouraged. To register and/or for more information, please visit: www.putnamcountyny.gov/fluclinic. If you have accessibility needs, please sign up for either the clinic in Garrison on October 7, or the Carmel one on October 19 and indicate this during the online process for an in-vehicle vaccination. Walk-in registrations can also be accommodated.             

The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended childhood vaccination for more than 90 years. The organization also recommends flu shots for children starting at six months of age, provided they are healthy and have no health issues that might cause complications. Both parents and pediatricians have relied on the advice of this trustworthy organization made up of more than 67,000 pediatricians, all committed to the health and well-being of children, infants to young adults. Over the years the schedule has been adjusted to include more vaccines that have been proven to be evidence-based. 

Immunization is now more important than ever, particularly as vaccination rates have declined in some communities. Measles is a good example. Putnam’s most recent case in June 2025, which was acquired travelling abroad, was contained due in part to the health department’s rapid response, including educational outreach and vaccination where necessary. Putnam County’s relatively high rate of vaccination may have also contributed to the containment.  

Other locations have been less fortunate. Measles is now resurging across the country, while continuing to be a threat worldwide. U.S. outbreaks case numbers totaled 2,813 as of August 25. South Carolina had the most with 671 cases, Utah had 518 cases, and Pennsylvania had 378. Texas, Virginia, Florida and Arizona each had over 100 cases this year. These numbers are according to the U.S. Measles Tracker at Johns Hopkins Blomberg School of Public Health. 

This highly infectious childhood disease was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, according to the CDC’s history of measles. But as of July 2026, with nearly a half-year remaining, there were already over 2,300 U.S. measles cases—more than in the entire year of 2025, and the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, known as CIDRAP and called “SID-wrap,” reported that measles cases had reached a 35-year high in the United States. 

For more information about fall flu vaccines, visit: www.putnamcountyny.gov/fluclinic. More information on the health department’s childhood vaccine programs is available here below the school-based flu clinics: www.putnamcountyny.gov/health/immunization.

The mission of the Putnam County Department of Health is to improve and protect the health of the Putnam County community. The department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) through 2029, serves a community composed of nearly 100,000 residents. Core services are provided through a lens of equity, and include community health assessment, disease surveillance and control, emergency preparedness, environmental health protection, family health promotion, and health education. For more information, please visit the County website at www.putnamcountyny.gov, or visit our social media sites on Facebook, X and Instagram @PutnamHealthNY.

Resources:

• NYS Department of Health—Measles Update         https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/measles/ 
• NYS Department of Health—2026-2027 NYS Immunization Requirements  www.health.ny.gov/publications/2370.pdf
• Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy—Measles cases reach 35-year high in US https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles/measles-cases-reach-35-year-high-us 
• Centers For Disease Control (CDC)—History of Measles  
  https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/history.html
• John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health—U.S. Measles Tracker https://publichealth.jhu.edu/ivac/resources/us-measles-tracker