FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - JANUARY 06: A box of influenza vaccine shots is seen in the MinuteClinic at the CVS/pharmacy on January 6, 2014 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The 2013-2014 influenza season is starting to take off in the United States, with more than half the country reporting widespread cases of flu activity, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
A box of influenza vaccine shots (credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A second wave of the flu has struck this spring and has put more New Yorkers in the hospital than in January, according to health officials.
As WCBS 880’s Sean Adams reported, the number of flu cases usually declines by spring, but not this year.
According to the latest New York State figures from the first week in April, influenza is still widespread with close to 2,600 confirmed cases, a 23 percent spike in a week.
Also in that first week in April, 648 people were hospitalized, representing a 29 percent increase over the week prior, and one child died. Those 648 hospitalizations in New York State represent the largest number since flu season began in October, according to state statistics.
During the peak in mid-January, influenza A was the culprit. This second wave is being led by influenza B.
Connecticut and New Jersey, along with Massachusetts and Delaware, are also seeing a spike in flu cases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“As long as there’s vaccines on the shelves, there’s time. I’ve been telling my medical center that we may be seeing influenza until Memorial Day,” Dr. Gary Monk, director of clinical virology at Hackensack University Medical Center, told Adams. “We’re seeing a lot of influenza B in people who were not vaccinated and I’m seeing people who may have been vaccinated with a type of vaccine that would not have had that B in it because there’s actually two types of B circulating.”
As people gather for Passover and Easter, Dr. Monk advises people to wash their hands and cover their coughs.
