Not too late to get a flu shot

CHENANGO COUNTY – It’s not too late to get a flu shot, says the Chenango County Department of Public Health.

The department will set up free and open flu vaccine clinics for all ages from 3 to 6 p.m. on Friday at the Monsignor Festa Parish Center on East Main Street in Norwich, and from 10 a.m. to noon on Monday at the County Office Building.

The department has an excess of vaccinations, and nurse Marianne Kirsch said she’s hopeful that people will take advantage of the surplus.

“We’ll give it away,” she said.

Medical Director Dr. Scott Cohen said that apart from influenza, the overuse of antibiotics has been a pressing and ongoing issue in regard to public health that the general population might not be aware of.

According to Cohen and other agencies, the blanket prescription of antibiotics for viral respiratory infections such as colds and bronchitis have caused existing bacteria in the body to strengthen their residence to antibiotic treatments, making people more susceptible to pneumonia and other bacterial illnesses.