Vaccinations

The first Connecticut child has died from the flu this season, according to the state Department of Public Health.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health confirmed the first flu death of the year amid one of the earliest and most severe flu seasons in recent years.

New York has expanded the criteria residents need to receive the monkeypox vaccine.

Health officials in New York and Connecticut are urging local communities to make sure they are up to date on their polio vaccinations before the school year begins. In late July, a person tested positive in Rockland County.

Governor Kathy Hochul said COVID-19 rules will be eased for New York’s schoolchildren this year and masks and social distancing will no longer be required. The governor and state health officials also gave an update on the spread of monkeypox, which for the first time has infected a child.

There are now 57 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Connecticut, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The U.S. will declare a public health emergency to bolster the federal response to the outbreak of monkeypox that already has infected more than 6,600 Americans, two people familiar with the matter said Thursday.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she and state health officials are confronting the ongoing outbreaks of two diseases, COVID-19 and monkeypox. She also said the state is launching two programs to better respond to future health crises.

There are now 28 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Connecticut, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A judge will decide whether to dismiss a lawsuit from two Connecticut families seeking to reinstate the religious exemption for school vaccinations.