A second wave of the flu is spreading across the country, with doctor visits for flu-like symptoms at their highest in 15 years, according to national data.
Nearly 8% of health care visits last week were for respiratory illnesses — the highest since the 2009-2010 season when swine flu rocked the country — and nearly 50,000 patients were hospitalized with the virus, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Roughly a third — 32% — of flu tests came back positive, the data show. At the peak of last year’s flu season, which runs from October through May, fewer than one in five, about 18%, of tests came up positive.
The CDC estimated there have been 24 million cases of the flu so far this season, leading to 310,000 hospitalizations and 13,000 deaths.
Forty-five states, including New York, remained in the “high” or “very high” category for flu activity, according to the most recent data. They were highest in southern, western and southwestern states.
Schools in at least 10 states across the US have been forced to close because of the virus, as hundreds of kids and staffers got sick, according to reports.
There were more than 53,000 positive flu cases and 3,000 hospitalizations in the Empire State in the week ending on Feb. 1, a slight increase from the week prior, state Department of Health data showed.
Outbreaks in hospitals and nursing homes spiked 19% compared to the week before. So far this season, there have been 513 outbreaks in hospitals and nursing homes in the state.
There were more than 22,000 positive influenza A and B cases in the Big Apple last week, a slight decrease from the week before — but the most in the past five years, according to city Department of Health data. There were about half the number of cases at the same time last year.
Two kids died from flu-related illnesses in the city, making for three so far this season. In the state, there have been nine influenza-associated pediatric deaths and 57 nationwide.
The NYC Health Department this week encouraged New Yorkers to get vaccinated against the flu amid the latest surge, especially kids under 5, people over 65 and pregnant women.
The highly contagious RSV is declining in most areas of the country, including in New York City, where there was a 16% decline last week.
Cases of COVID-19, which have also been elevated in most parts of the country, were also on the decline.
