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Free Flu Shot Clinics Offered In Effort To Fight Outbreak

Ted S. Warren
/
AP

Health officials in Connecticut say the flu epidemic will get worse before it gets better, and they’re taking steps to try to stop the virus from spreading.

Free or low-cost flu shots were made available at a dozen locations on Saturday, and health officials say there will be another round of free clinics next weekend.

The Department of Public Health says peak flu season is still weeks away, and urges everyone who has not had a flu shot to get one. They say it is not too late to be immunized.

On Long Island, hundreds of people turned out for free flu shots on Saturday, and both Nassau and Suffolk Counties will make free flu shots available to residents this week. In Nassau, clinics will be held on Wednesday in Hempstead and on Thursday in Westbury. Suffolk will hold free clinics on Tuesday at the Riverhead Library and on Thursday at the County Office Building in Hauppauge.

 

In Suffolk, there have been over 3,700 cases of the flu this season, with 782 new cases reported last week. Nassau has confirmed almost 3,900 cases, with 430 new diagnoses last week.

On Thursday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo authorized emergency funds to the state’s 62 counties to fight the flu, which health officials say is spreading exponentially.

Terry Sheridan is a Peabody-nominated, award-winning journalist. As Senior Director of News and Education, he developed a unique and award-winning internship program with the Stony Brook University School of Communications and Journalism, where he is also a lecturer and adjunct professor. He also mentors graduate fellows from the Sacred Heart University Graduate School of Communication, Media and the Arts.