Q&A
Current flu season and measures to protect vulnerable New Yorkers
1:10:54
ยท
162 sec
Council Member Moya asks about the current flu season and measures to protect vulnerable New Yorkers. Dr. Michelle Morse explains the current situation and prevention strategies.
- The flu season has been severe, but recent data shows a 16% decrease in cases
- Flu vaccination is highly recommended for most people to reduce hospitalization and death risks
- Other preventive measures include staying home when sick, getting tested, hand hygiene, and wearing masks in crowded spaces
- Emphasis on the importance of flu vaccination, noting it's not too late to get vaccinated
Francisco P. Moya
1:10:54
Okay.
1:10:55
Great.
1:10:55
Thank you.
1:10:56
When it comes to vaccination guidance, I wanted to talk about sort of the changes to COVID nineteen, the flu RSV vaccination guidances.
1:11:07
New York City's currently experienced the the worst flu season since 2020.
1:11:12
What is the department doing to prevent hospitalization and protect our most vulnerable New Yorkers who are unable to get vaccinations for respiratory illness due to age or medical reasons?
Dr. Michelle Morse
1:11:28
So this has been a very heavy flu dominated respiratory viral season.
1:11:34
I do want to share however our most recent data showed that the number of flu cases we had in the most recent week was sixteen percent lower than the prior week.
1:11:45
So we are starting to see a trend.
1:11:47
We're hoping that we're past the curve, but that doesn't negate the fact that it has been a very flu dominant respiratory viral season.
1:11:56
All of that said, I myself practice at Kings County Hospital as a hospitalist and internal medicine doctor and see lots of patients unfortunately who are hospitalized with the flu.
1:12:07
There are very few people who are not eligible for the flu vaccine.
1:12:12
And so our main focus at the New York City Health Department to protect New Yorkers is to encourage everyone who's eligible, is most people, to get the flu vaccine.
1:12:24
And that vaccine is particularly important because it actually decreases the chances of the need for hospitalization or death if you are infected with the flu.
1:12:36
So one of the best ways to prevent hospitalization, to decrease the number of people in the hospital that I see every time I'm at Kings County with the flu, is to get that vaccine.
1:12:47
We also encourage all the other tried and true evidence based effective public health interventions.
1:12:53
That includes things that are more routine, like if you're sick, stay at home.
1:12:58
Get tested if you're sick because you want to know if you have flu, might be eligible for treatment, you want to know if you have COVID, you might be eligible for treatment.
1:13:06
Those treatments can keep you out of the hospital.
1:13:08
The other thing we encourage everyone to do is hand hygiene And then we also encourage everyone to consider wearing a tight fitting mask if they're in crowded public spaces.
1:13:19
And certainly if you're sick and you have to leave the house, wear a mask.
1:13:23
So those are the things that help us flatten the curve.
1:13:25
They're the most evidence based interventions.
1:13:27
They work.
1:13:29
And so we encourage more and more New Yorkers to follow that guidance and also get the flu vaccine.
1:13:33
In fact, it's not too late.
1:13:35
You can get your flu vaccine now.