BAY RIDGE — FLU CASES ARE surging across New York state, with more than 17,000 infections and nearly 1,000 hospitalizations already reported, and a 117% week-over-week jump heading into the holidays, reports CBS News.
Doctors say this season the influenza A H3N2 strain is dominating, and warn that the currently available vaccine is not a perfect match for the new subclade K variant, which emerged only after the vaccine’s development.
“We’ve been filling Tamiflu, a lot of antibiotics lately, especially from the urgent cares,” said Abdel Alileala of EZ Rx Pharmacy on 8th Avenue and 88th Street in Bay Ridge. “People get together, and guess what? One person has it, everybody does.”
Health officials urge New Yorkers to get vaccinated, noting flu activity typically peaks between December and February.
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