Flu quickly spreading across U.S., says CDC; New York City at ‘very high’ activity level

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Influenza activity is being tracked at elevated ranges across the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mentioned final week, elevating issues Thanksgiving journey may exacerbate the unfold of respiratory diseases.

The flu has brought about an estimated greater than 4.4 million circumstances, 38,000 hospitalizations and a couple of,100 deaths to date this season, in accordance with CDC estimates, with the present hospitalization fee toppling numbers seen at this time of the yr for the previous decade.

New York City has noticed “very high” ranges of influenza-like sickness as of Nov. 12, 2022, becoming a member of greater than a dozen states — largely within the southeast — given the identical designation.

“CDC recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older get a flu vaccine annually,” the company wrote in its replace. “Now is a good time to get vaccinated.”

The CDC mentioned two new pediatric deaths have been reported throughout this yr’s flu season, bringing the overall variety of fatalities to seven for these beneath 18. Young youngsters and older adults are thought-about to be at best threat to extreme sickness attributable to influenza.

Most of the influenza viruses examined by federal well being officers this yr are much like the viruses focused on this yr’s flu vaccine, the CDC mentioned. Testing earlier this year discovered the vaccine was efficient at lowering hospitalizations.

“Vaccination helps prevent infection and can also prevent serious outcomes in people who get vaccinated but still get sick with flu,” the CDC mentioned.

The excessive ranges of influenza come as hospitals across the nation are grappling with a surge of pediatric Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) circumstances, together with Staten Island’s medical techniques, the Advance/SILive.com reported.

Top docs at each Staten Island University Hospital and Richmond University Medical Center have seen greater than a two-fold enhance in RSV hospitalizations of younger youngsters.

The sheer enhance within the variety of circumstances is partially responsible for the heightened hospitalization ranges, although restricted publicity to RSV in recent times — a byproduct of a scarcity of publicity to different youngsters and frequent masks sporting — may very well be one other issue, mentioned Dr. Brian McMahon, chairman of the division of pediatrics at Richmond University Medical Center.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) additionally stills to take care of a presence all through the nation. Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 tracker exhibits greater than 40,000 individuals have been killed by the illness previously 28 days.

New York City Health Department information exhibits a mean of two,527 each day circumstances are being reported citywide, although hospitalizations and deaths stay low. Staten Island’s case fee has remained regular over the previous few months, although general ranges of % positivity have crept upward in latest days.