Press Releases

In recognition of National Screen-Free Week, the Oneida County Health Department has collaborated with the City of Rome Parks and Recreation Department, City of Sherrill, Sherrill-Kenwood Library, and the Creating Healthy Schools and Communities Initiative to bring StoryWalk® to the Rome and Sherrill communities. Screen-Free Week highlights the opportunity for the entire family to unplug from digital entertainment and spend more time reading, playing, daydreaming, creating and exploring. This year, Screen-Free Week is observed April 30 to May 6.

The Oneida County Health Department conducted a trial Point of Dispensing Exercise on 04/26/2018 to test the Health Department’s effectiveness in responding to a disease outbreak. The two hour real-time drill took place at Mohawk Valley Community College’s Jorgensen Athletic Center and was administered by the Oneida County Health Department in cooperation with the Oneida County Executive’s Office, Oneida County Office of Emergency Management and MVCC.

A dog is being quarantined in Oneida County due to contact with a skunk that tested positive for rabies.
The dog and skunk came into contact on Monday, April 2nd. The skunk later tested positive for rabies. No human exposures occurred as a result.

As a follow up to news on a student from a local college campus becoming ill with bacterial meningitis, Oneida County Health Department would like to share some information on meningococcal disease, how it is spread, and how it can be prevented.

The newly released county health rankings compiled by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UWPHI) show an improvement in health outcomes and health factors for Oneida County.

Central NY has been hit hard with the flu this year. Oneida County is continuing to see high numbers of positive flu cases. Flu cases are beginning to drop, but active cases of flu will circulate locally for many weeks ahead and transmission will continue to occur. According to the CDC, much of influenza illnesses this year are being caused by a strain of influenza A, called H3N2. The flu vaccine can protect against several strains of the flu virus. Based on preliminary effectiveness estimates, the CDC estimates that the flu vaccine is approximately 25% effective against the H3N2 strain https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6706a2.htm . This is higher than estimates previously reported in the national news. The flu vaccine is showing higher effectiveness for H1N1 and influenza B strains (67 and 42% respectively for all age groups). Based on previous years’ trends, Flu A cases typically start to decrease as Flu B increases. We are beginning to see that trend.