Public Health Director: flu shots available, suspected measles case negative; bike rodeo plans advancing

Ruby Taylor, the county public health director, told the Broadwater County Board of Health that seasonal regular-dose flu vaccines remain available and that the county recently had a highly suspect measles case that tested negative.

"We still have some flu shots available, mainly the regular dose flu shots... We just had our first highly suspect measles case. Right before I came, we got it back. It's negative," Taylor said, adding that the suspect case's symptoms aligned with measles but the laboratory result relieved immediate concern.

Taylor also outlined planning for the annual bike rodeo, describing safety instruction (hand signals, stopping, obstacle course), helmet distribution, a bike-drawing giveaway across age groups and partnerships with community organizations and the hospital. She said staff are considering moving the event to the second weekend in June or a Friday evening to increase attendance and will reach out to partners including Rotary and the hospital for support.

Board members offered to publish event flyers on the county website and suggested possible helicopter/EMT demonstrations and provider presentations to highlight head-injury risks. Taylor said she will circulate details and invites for planned tabletop exercises (a March 3 infectious-disease exercise) and will continue outreach to partners for the bike rodeo.