Flu cases spiking in New York and beyond. Why experts say it's likely to get worse.
Flu cases are spiking in the Tri-State Area.
In New York alone, there have already been more than 17,000 cases and nearly 1,000 hospitalizations, and doctors anticipate it's only going to get worse as more people gather for the holidays.
According to New York's flu tracker, there were 7,765 cases statewide the week ending Nov. 22. That's a 117% increase from the week prior. Last year, we only saw 1,959 cases.
"A potentially very bad flu season"
"It's a very serious infection. It's not the cold, and even under the best of circumstances, it'll zap your energy, make you – it's miserable, and it takes weeks to recover," Northwell Health infectious disease Dr. Bruce Farber said.
Farber said influenza A, specifically the H3N2 strain, is dominating, and the flu vaccine was developed before the new subclade K variant emerged.
"That doesn't mean the vaccine is not effective, but it's not a perfect match. So the combination of low vaccination rates in the community and a new strain that's not a perfect match sets the stage for a potentially very bad flu season," Farber said.
At EZ Rx Pharmacy in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, pharmacists Abdel Alileala says over-the-counter medicines have been flying off store shelves. It has been especially busy, Alileala said.
"We've been filling Tamiflu, a lot of antibiotics lately, especially from the urgent cares," Alileala said.
"People get together, and guess what?"
He noticed demand increasing during the past few weeks, including for flu shots as flu cases increase in New York.
"People get together, and guess what? One person has it, everybody does," Alileala said.
CityMD chief medical officer Dr. Dmitry Volfson expects cases will increase as the holiday season ramps up.
"It's important to get the flu shot for the best form of protection," Volfson said. "There's also other things that are going around. We still have rhinovirus and RSV increasing, but certainly flu has been increasing particularly in the last two weeks."
Doctors say flu season can run through April, and we haven't even reached the peak yet, so it's not too late to get your flu shot.
According to the CDC, flu activity typically peaks between December and February.