Marin County Public Health officials are urging residents to stay current on vaccinations, take precautions during a heat advisory and remain alert to ongoing disease risks, including elevated respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and a multistate E. coli outbreak.

A federal judge this week temporarily blocked changes to the childhood immunization schedule, keeping existing recommendations in place during legal review. Marin County health officials will continue to follow established, science-based guidance and encouraged residents to check their measles, mumps and rubella vaccination status amid rising global measles outbreaks. In the Bay Area, measles cases have been detected in San Mateo and Napa counties.

RSV remains higher than usual in Marin County and statewide, posing a risk to infants. Preventive options include nirsevimab, a protective antibody shot for infants younger than 8 months entering their first RSV season, and vaccination during late pregnancy to protect newborns. State officials recommend continuing infant immunizations through April.

A heat advisory is also in effect. Residents are urged to limit outdoor activity during peak afternoon hours, stay hydrated, seek cool environments, and check on vulnerable neighbors.

In a food safety alert, officials warned against consuming raw, unpasteurized dairy products after federal investigators linked raw cheddar cheese to an E. coli outbreak affecting multiple states, including California. The product has not been fully removed from the market.

The county has launched a new dashboard tracking COVID-19, flu and RSV data. Members of the public can also go to the Public Emergency Portal for the latest updates on heat advisories and emergency alerts.

Ruth Dusseault is an investigative reporter and multimedia journalist focused on environment and energy. Her position is supported by the California local news fellowship, a statewide initiative spearheaded by UC Berkeley aimed at supporting local news platforms. While a student at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism (c’23), Ruth developed stories about the social and environmental circumstances of contaminated watersheds around the Great Lakes, Mississippi River and Florida’s Lake Okeechobee. Her thesis explored rights of nature laws in small rural communities. She is a former assistant professor and artist in residence at Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture, and uses photography, film and digital storytelling to report on the engineered systems that undergird modern life.