STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 New York City health officials said Thursday that they\u2019d seen encouraging flu trends in recent weeks, but that New Yorkers should still take steps to protect themselves.<\/p>\n
Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse particularly urged New Yorkers to get their flu shots as the city sees its highest rate of flu in decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not out of the woods,\u201d Morse said. \u201cFlu is notoriously a bit unpredictable. We fully expect, actually, that over the next several weeks we\u2019ll continue to see flu cases.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morse said that in recent weeks the city had seen a decline in cases from the particularly high rates of late December, but that public health officials expect to see cases through May.<\/p>\n
The week ending Dec. 20 saw 32,000 flu cases in the city, the highest rate of infection since 2005, according to Morse.<\/p>\n
Staten Island is currently seeing case rates comparable to counties in the rest of the state and city, according to information from the online state flu tracker<\/a>.<\/p>\n In addition to getting vaccinated, Morse urged New Yorkers to follow public health guidance like staying home when sick and if unable, to ensure their faces are covered when out of the house.<\/p>\n Much of Morse\u2019s briefing focused on countering recent vaccine skepticism from the federal government. <\/p>\n