The flu is clobbering New York City this season — and it’s only just begun.
“Flu activity is elevated. It’s been elevated for a few weeks, and it’s probably still on the upswing,” Dr. Jane Zucker, of the Department of Health’s immunization bureau, told The Post on Wednesday.
“Judging where we are on the curve, I think we’re really at the beginning of influenza season.”
Across the Empire State, there were 2,117 laboratory-confirmed cases of the flu, with the virus rampant in 58 of 62 counties as of Dec. 22, the state Department of Health said.
The agency said 363 people have been hospitalized so far.
Zucker urged all New Yorkers to get a flu shot, saying there are plenty of vaccines to go around. She said getting the jab earlier rather than later in the season is always better — though sometimes outbreaks of the highly contagious virus are seen as late as May.
“Every year is different. It’s why we try to get people vaccinated early so they’re protected whenever influenza arrives,” the doctor said. So far this season, school-aged children are the most at risk with hospitalization rates for those younger than 5 the highest among all age groups, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Eleven pediatric flu-related deaths have been recorded already, including one in New York City in October. City officials won’t say whether that child was vaccinated because they don’t share information about individual cases.
Children ages 5 and under who attend city-licensed child-care programs were required to receive a flu shot by Dec. 31.
Zucker said vaccination data for the city shows that more parents are opting to get their kids the flu shot this year compared with last.
“Oh, I’m a big fan of the flu shot. It’s definitely something I worry about,” said mom Anna Aguilar, 31, who lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn. “[My daughter] is only 1, so she’s not in school, not exposed to the worst of it. But streets, playgrounds — those places are just crawling with germs. You can’t take chances. So we always do the shot.”
