{"id":88827,"date":"2026-01-04T16:08:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T16:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/88827\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T16:08:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T16:08:08","slug":"2026-rolls-in-with-a-spike-in-nyc-flu-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/88827\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 rolls in with a spike in NYC flu cases"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"a\t\t\t<\/p>\n

A pharmacist at Vine Rx Pharmacy assisting a customer. <\/p>\n

Photo by Barbara Russo-Lennon<\/p>\n

Just as 2026 arrived, so has peak flu season in New York.\n<\/p>\n

Hospitalizations for respiratory illness during the week ending on Dec. 27, 2025, increased slightly to 14.66% from 14.64% the previous week, according to the latest NYC health data<\/a>. The data is overwhelmingly composed of flu cases, but COVID-19 and RSV cases are also represented.<\/p>\n

The good news is that emergency room visits<\/a> for flu-related symptoms decreased in the Big Apple during that period, from nearly 9% to just under 8%, city health department officials reported this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Symptoms of the flu include fever, body aches, chills and cough. The condition can often be mistaken for a sinus infection or other respiratory illnesses.
\n\"womanThe good news is that emergency room visits for flu-related symptoms decreased in the Big Apple during that period, from nearly 9% to just under 8%, city health department officials reported this week.\u00a0Photo via Getty Images\n<\/p>\n

NYC\u2019s acting Health Commissioner Michelle Morse, MD, urged New Yorkers to get vaccinated for the flu and stay home if they feel symptoms coming on.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe urge every New Yorker and their family to stay protected this season and get their updated vaccines,\u201d Morse said in a statement. \u201cAdditionally, if you or a loved one are feeling any flu-like symptoms, we urge you get tested, stay home, wear a mask, and avoid crowded spaces if you are unable to stay home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other precautions to take include washing hands often, covering coughs and sneezes, and cleaning touched surfaces, per the health department.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Each year, about 1,500 to 2,000 New Yorkers die from flu and pneumonia and over 900 died from COVID-19 in 2024, according to the city\u2019s statistics.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, pharmacies across the city have been selling out of over-the-counter cold and flu relief.\n<\/p>\n

Mario Soliman, co-owner and pharmacist at Vine RX<\/a> drug store in Staten Island, said the store is selling \u201cplenty\u201d of over-the-counter cold and flu relief. Since mid-August, he and his colleagues have been out in full force administering flu shots to New Yorkers at local clinics, churches and schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe finished all our supplies by mid-November,\u201d Soliman said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

The pharmacist also recommended taking Vitamins C and D, and zinc, a combination that is found naturally in oranges, he said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Who should get the flu shot?<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s health department recommends New Yorkers ages 6 months and older get this season\u2019s flu and COVID-19 vaccines. Adults 75 and older, and those ages 50 to 74 with certain chronic conditions or other risk factors, should also get an RSV vaccine, the department said.<\/p>\n

Despite flu season being at its peak, it is not too late to get the flu shot. It is a seasonal virus and most prevalent during the fall and winter months.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the weather is cold, the flu is out there,\u201d Soliman said, adding that the season generally runs through April in NYC. \u201cThe flu does not like the heat. It only likes the cold.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s NYC Health Map<\/a> provides a list of locations where New Yorkers can receive a flu shot, as well as other vaccines. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A pharmacist at Vine Rx Pharmacy assisting a customer. Photo by Barbara Russo-Lennon Just as 2026 arrived, so…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88828,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[42523,42524,2953,9,56,63,65,64,22538],"class_list":["post-88827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-flu-season-in-nyc","tag-flu-sympstoms-and-prevention","tag-health","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-nyc-department-of-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}