As the flu and COVID-19 are expected to circulate at the same time this season, getting a flu vaccine is more important than ever. Although the flu vaccine will not prevent COVID-19, it will help decrease the risk of you and your family getting sick and needing flu-related medical care. Every year, about 2,000 New Yorkers die of seasonal flu and pneumonia, which can develop as a complication of the flu. Meanwhile, over 56,000 New Yorkers have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began last year. Vaccination is the best way to protect against both the flu and COVID-19.

This Tuesday, November 16 at 7 p.m. join trusted health experts and Health Commissioners from the Suffolk and Nassau County Departments of Health, for a FREE Zoom webinar “The Flu and COVID: A Conversation with Your County Health Commissioner” at 7 PM. They will answer your questions about COVID-19, the flu vaccine and provide advice for maintaining you and your family’s health. Some topics experts will discuss include:

• How to prevent the spread of flu and COVID this year.

• What the Department of Health in each county is doing to help Long Islanders.

• What you should know about vaccine safety, the Delta variant, and how other variants can be prevented.

• Why booster vaccines are important and who should get them.

• How to safely get both the flu vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine.

Questions can be submitted in advance and real time Spanish translation will be available. To register for this FREE event visit, https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-SUVMjnORoWTfYU52MS-Gw

PRESENTERS:

• Gregson Pigott, MD, MPH, Commissioner of the Suffolk County, Department of Health Services

• Lawrence Eisenstein, MD, MPH, FACP, Commissioner of the Nassau County, Department of Health

MODERATOR:

• Lisa Benz Scott, PhD, Director and Professor, Program in Public Health, Stony Brook University

SPANISH TRANSLATOR:

• Héctor E. Alcalá, PhD, MPH, Core Faculty, Program in Public Health; Assistant Professor, Department of Family, Population and Preventive Medicine, Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University

This event is co-sponsored by Suffolk County Department of Health Services, Nassau County Department of Health, Stony Brook Program in Public Health, Department of Family, Population and Preventive Medicine, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. With support from the Stony Brook University Alumni Association.