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It is estimated that over 6 years,  influenza-like illnesses were responsible for up to:

36 million illnesses

16.7 outpatient visits

708,000 hospitalizations, and 56,000 deaths

It is estimated that each year  the influenza vaccine has prevented up to:

6.7 million illnesses

3.1 million outpatient visits

87,000 hospitalizations

10,000 deaths each year

(Rolfes et al., 2018)

Vaccination rates are slowly increasing thanks to campaigns and regulations, but appear to have hit a statistical plateau and goals are short of those set by Healthy People 2020 of 70%  of adults vaccinated.

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2018-2019 Flu Season vaccinations rates have improved from previous seasons.

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Among children, coverage during the 2018-19 season increased significantly compared with the 2017-18 season for Hispanic children, non-Hispanic white children, and non-Hispanic black children, but not for Asian, American Indian/Alaska Native, and other or multiple-race children (Table 2). Similar to the 2017-18 season, significant differences in flu vaccination coverage were observed between racial/ethnic groups. Asian children had higher flu vaccination coverage than children in all other racial/ethnic groups. Hispanic children had higher flu vaccination coverage than children in all other racial/ethnic groups except for Asian children. There were no other statistically significant pair-wise differences.

* Estimates of the percentage of children vaccinated are based on interviews conducted October 2018 through June 2019 and reported vaccinations from July 2018 through May 2019.
† Excludes U.S. territories. ‡ Race is reported by parent/guardian; people of Hispanic ethnicity may be of any race. § Percentage vaccinated. Percentages are weighted to the U.S. population. Month of vaccination was imputed for respondents with missing month of vaccination data.|| Confidence interval (CI) half-widths. ¶ Statistically significant difference between the 2018-19 season and the 2017-18 season by t-test (p<0.05).

** Includes Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, multiracial, and other races.

Overall among adults ≥18 years, coverage was 45.3%, 8.2 percentage points higher than coverage during the 2017-18 season (37.1%) and 2.0 percentage points higher than the 2016-17 season (43.3%; Figure 3). Coverage for 2018-19 was higher for every age group compared with the 2017-18 season. As observed each flu season, flu vaccination coverage among adults increased with increasing age.

There was large between-state variability in flu vaccination coverage among adults, ranging from 33.9% in Nevada to 56.3% in Rhode Island ( Figure 4). See the interactive FluVaxView application for additional state-level estimates by age-groups and multiple flu seasons. Of the ten states with the lowest influenza vaccination coverage for children in 2018-19, eight were also among the ten states with the lowest coverage for adults. Child and adult influenza vaccination coverage estimates by state were positively associated (r=0.77).

Among adults ≥18 years, coverage during the 2018-19 season increased for all racial/ethnic groups compared with the 2017-18 season, except for Asian and American Indian/Alaska Native adults ( Table 2). Similar to the 2017-18 season, significant differences in flu vaccination coverage were observed between racial/ethnic groups. Non-Hispanic white adults had higher flu vaccination coverage than non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, Asian, and AI/AN adults and adults of other or multiple races. Additionally non-Hispanic black adults had higher flu vaccination coverage than Hispanic adults, while Asian adults had higher coverage than non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, and AI/AN adults and adults of other or multiple races. There were no other statistically significant pair-wise differences.

* Estimates of the percentage of adults vaccinated are based on interviews conducted September 2018 through June 2019 and reported vaccinations from July 2018 through May 2019. No BRFSS interviews were conducted in New Jersey or the District of Columbia from September 2018 through June 2019.
† Excludes U.S. territories. ‡ Race is self-reported; people of Hispanic ethnicity may be of any race. § Percentage vaccinated. Percentages are weighted to the U.S. population. Month of vaccination was imputed for respondents with missing month of vaccination data.|| Confidence interval (CI) half-widths. ¶ Statistically significant difference between the 2018-19 season and the 2017-18 season by t-test (p<0.05).

** Includes Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, multiracial, and other races.
Comparisons to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
Estimated flu vaccination coverage by season among children was 2-9 percentage points higher based on NIS-Flu compared to NHIS (Figure 5). For adults, estimated flu vaccination coverage from BRFSS and NHIS were similar until the 2017-18 season, when the BRFSS estimate was eight percentage points below the NHIS estimate. The dip in adult flu vaccination coverage for the 2017-18 season from BRFSS was not observed in NHIS estimates. For both children and adults, estimates from NHIS suggest increases in coverage in 2018-19 compared to 2017-18, based on preliminary 2018-19 season coverage.

Discussion

Annual flu vaccination is an effective way to prevent flu illness and increases in flu vaccination coverage in children and adults will prevent additional influenza illnesses, medical visits, and hospitalizations.[ 2] The large variation in flu vaccination coverage by state and correlation between state coverage for children and adults are not well understood but indicate opportunity for improvement. Flu vaccination coverage among children during the 2018-19 season remains lower than coverage for other childhood vaccinations.[ 4, 5] A recent national study found that the most common reasons parents reported for not having their child vaccinated against influenza are concern about side-effects/safety, belief that the flu vaccine does not work well, and belief that their child is unlikely to get very sick from influenza.[ 6] As the 2019-20 season is beginning, it is important that providers prioritize flu vaccination for their patients.[ 1] This includes client reminders when flu vaccination supplies become available, assessing the vaccination status at every visit, making an effective recommendation for vaccination, and offering the vaccine or referring to a vaccine provider. For more information about flu, including flu vaccine recommendations, flu activity and surveillance, and resources for discussing flu vaccination with patients, visit the CDC flu webpage.

Survey data indicated an increase in flu coverage compared with the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons for both children and adults; the observed increases may reflect true increases in coverage or may be due to limitations of the telephone surveys described below. NIS-Flu estimates have been consistently higher than those from the NHIS by 4-9 percentage points for the 2011-12 through 2017-18 flu seasons. NHIS achieves higher response rates than NIS-Flu, and uses an area probability design with in person interviews, while NIS-Flu samples from and conducts interviews by cellular telephone. Despite differences in survey methodology, similar to NIS-Flu, projected coverage for 2018-19 from NHIS indicates a possible increase compared to prior seasons for children. Both NIS-Flu and NHIS estimates may be too high because of reliance on parental-reported flu vaccination status; vaccination status is not confirmed by medical records.

Flu vaccination coverage among adults during the 2018-19 season remains lower than national objectives, at only 45.3% based on BRFSS. BRFSS data indicated a 6.2 percentage point decrease from the 2016-17 to the 2017-18 season, and then an 8.2 percentage point increase in coverage for 2018-19 compared with the 2017-18 season. However, preliminary estimates from several other data sources did not show a dip in coverage for the 2017-18 season. It is not clear why estimates for the 2017-18 season showed a different pattern compared to other data sources when historically the seasonal pattern between sources has been consistent. It is reassuring that the increase in BRFSS estimates for the 2018-19 season are consistent with other sources: projected coverage for 2018-19 from NHIS indicates a possible increase compared to prior seasons for adults and coverage estimates for flu vaccinations received through mid-November from the National Internet Flu Survey showed a 6.4 percentage point increase from the 2017-18 season (38.6%) to the 2018-19 season (44.9%).[ 7]

CDC will continue to assess consistency between flu vaccination coverage estimates from different surveys and other data sources, and evaluate accuracy of estimates from these data sources. CDC is also exploring other potential non-survey data sources to track flu vaccination coverage. Using IQVIA™ data, the projected number of flu vaccinations administered among adults in retail pharmacies (chain, independent, food stores, and mass merchandizers) and the projected number of flu vaccinations billed in outpatient medical offices among adults increased an average of 20% and 4% per season, respectively, from the 2016-17 through 2018-19 seasons (CDC, unpublished data) thus further lending support that flu vaccination coverage for adults increased in the 2018-19 season.
Additional Flu Vaccination Coverage Estimates
Additional flu vaccination coverage estimates for the 2018-19 and earlier flu seasons by state and Health and Human Services (HHS) region are provided on FluVaxView as interactive maps, figures, and tables. Flu vaccination coverage was estimated for additional age groups, and by sex, race/ethnicity, and select local areas including territories (see box below).

Limitations

The NIS-Flu and BRFSS estimates in this report are subject to at least five limitations. First, weighting adjustments may not eliminate possible bias from using an incomplete sample frame; both surveys exclude households with no telephones, and NIS-Flu also excludes households with only landline telephones. Second, response rates for both surveys were low, flu vaccination coverage may differ between survey respondents and non-respondents, and survey weighting adjustments may not adequately control for these differences. Third, there may be errors in flu vaccination status due to recall error of parents for NIS-Flu, and self-report for BRFSS.[ 8-10] Fourth, errors from incomplete sample frame, nonresponse, and accuracy of reported flu vaccination status might change over time, which could lead to inaccurate assessment of trends in flu vaccination coverage. Finally, comparisons of estimates from different surveys should be interpreted with caution given possible differences in the precision of estimates and survey methods (including different sampling frames, survey mode, survey questions, order of survey questions, interview period, operations, response rates, and weighting).

Further evaluation of BRFSS data was conducted to identify possible explanations for the dip in coverage between the 2016-17 and 2018-19 seasons, similar to the evaluation conducted for the 2017-18 season.[ 11] No evidence was found for systematic differences in BRFSS survey operations, methods, or data collection process that could account for the increase in coverage from 2017-18 to 2018-19. Respondents with missing data on flu vaccination status were excluded from the analysis, which could also affect representativeness of the sample. Prevalence of missing a response to the question about receipt of flu vaccine in the past 12 months was 6.9% for respondents interviewed during September 2018 through June 2019 (4.1%-4.8% during September-December 2018 and 6.4%-10.4% during January-June 2019). Using available factors associated with vaccination coverage, estimated vaccination coverage based on multiple imputation of vaccination status was 43.9%, slightly lower than the observed estimate of 45.3% that excluded respondents with missing data on flu vaccination receipt in the past 12 months. The increase in coverage in 2018-19 compared with 2017-18 was 7.0 percentage points using multiply imputed estimates for both seasons, similar to the 8.2 percentage point increase based on estimates excluding respondents with missing data.

References

1. Grohskopf, L.A., et al., Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices - United States, 2019-20 Influenza Season. MMWR Recomm Rep, 2019. 68(3): p. 1-21.

2. Hughes, M.M., et al., Projected Population Benefit of Increased Effectiveness and Coverage of Influenza Vaccination on Influenza Burden - United States. Clin Infect Dis, 2019.

3. CDC. About the National Health Interview Survey. 2019 [cited 2019 9/10/2019]; Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/about_nhis.htm.

4. Hill, H.A., et al., Vaccination Coverage Among Children Aged 19-35 Months - United States, 2017. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep, 2018. 67(40): p. 1123-1128.

5. Walker, T.Y., et al., National, Regional, State, and Selected Local Area Vaccination Coverage Among Adolescents Aged 13-17 Years - United States, 2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep, 2019. 68(33): p. 718-723.

6. Kahn, K.E., T.A. Santibanez, and Y. Zhai, Parental reasons for non-receipt of influenza vaccination among children 6 months-17 years, United States, 2015-16 and 2016-17 influenza seasons, in National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit. 2019: Atlanta, GA.

7. CDC. Early-season flu vaccination coverage-States, November 2018. 2018 9/10/2019]; Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/fluvaxview/nifs-estimates-nov2018.htm.

8. Brown, C., et al., Validity of parental report of influenza vaccination in young children seeking medical care. Vaccine, 2011. 29(51): p. 9488-92.

9. Irving, S.A., et al., Evaluation of self-reported and registry-based influenza vaccination status in a Wisconsin cohort. Vaccine, 2009. 27(47): p. 6546-9.

10. Rolfes, M.A., et al., Effects of Influenza Vaccination in the United States during the 2017-2018 Influenza Season. Clin Infect Dis, 2019.

11. CDC. Estimates of influenza vaccintion coverage among adults-United States, 2017-18 flu season. 2018; Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/fluvaxview/coverage-1718estimates.htm.

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behavioral risk factor surveillance system brfss

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Flu Vaccination Coverage, United States, 2018-19 Influenza Season

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Among children, coverage during the 2018-19 season increased significantly compared with the 2017-18 season for Hispanic children, non-Hispanic white children, and non-Hispanic black children, but not for Asian, American Indian/Alaska Native, and other or multiple-race children ( Table 2 ). Similar to the 2017-18 season, significant differences in flu vaccination coverage were observed between racial/ethnic groups.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Preliminary In-Season 2019-2020 Flu Burden Estimates

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CDC estimates* that, from October 1, 2019, through April 4, 2020, there have been: *Because influenza surveillance does not capture all cases of flu that occur in the U.S., CDC provides these estimated ranges to better reflect the larger burden of influenza. These estimates are calculated based on CDC's weekly influenza surveillance data and are preliminary.

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Lwin, M. O., Lu, J., Sheldenkar, A., & Schulz, P. J. (2018). Strategic uses of facebook in zika outbreak communication: Implications for the crisis and emergency risk communication model. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(9) doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.daemen.edu/10.3390/ijerph15091974

Rolfes, M. A., Foppa, I. M., Garg, S., Flannery, B., Brammer, L., Singleton, J. A., Burns, E., Jernigan, D., Olsen, S. J., Bresee, J., & Reed, C. (2018). Annual estimates of the burden of seasonal influenza in the United States: A tool for strengthening influenza surveillance and preparedness. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, 12(1), 132–137. MEDLINE with Full Text. https://doi.org/10.1111/irv.12486

Srivastav, A., Santibanez, T. A., Lu, P.-J., Stringer, M. C., Dever, J. A., Bostwick, M., Kurtz, M. S., Qualls, N. L., & Williams, W. W. (2018). Preventive behaviors adults report using to avoid catching or spreading influenza, United States, 2015-16 influenza season. PLoS ONE, 13(3), 1–16. https://doi-org.ezproxy.daemen.edu/10.1371/journal.pone.0195085

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020)-a. Disease Burden of Influenza. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/index.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019-a). Flu Symptoms & Complications. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms/symptoms.htm.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019-b). Flu Vaccination Coverage, United States, 2018–19 Influenza Season. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/flu/fluvaxview/coverage-1819estimates.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020-b).  National, Regional, and State Level Outpatient Illness and Viral Surveillance. Retrieved from https://gis.cdc.gov/grasp/fluview/fluportaldashboard.html

Healthy People (2020). Immunization and Infection Diseases. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/immunization-and-infectious-diseases/objectives

New York State Health Department. (2020-a) Governor Cuomo Announces Record-Breaking Total Number of Flu Cases in New York Even as Number of Flu Cases Decline for Second Week. Retrieved from https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-record-breaking-total-number-flu-cases-new-york-even-number-flu-cases

New York State Department of Health. (2020-b). New York State Flu Tracker. Retrieved from https://nyshc.health.ny.gov/web/nyapd/new-york-state-flu-tracker

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"The single best way to prevent influenza is annual vaccination" (Srivastav et al., 2018).

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

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Do your part to stop the spread of flu at home

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Prevent Influenza from Spreading (Strategy 2)

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Prevent Influenza from Spreading (Strategy 2)

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There are many things the public can do to prevent the spread of the flu, including:

Avoiding close contact with anyone who is sick

Staying home when sick

Covering mouth and nose when sneezing/coughing

Performing frequent hand hygiene

Not touching your eyes, nose, mouth

Disinfecting frequently touched surfaces  (Srivastav et al., 2018).

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Overview report.

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Each year, 3-11% of the US population becomes sick from influenza,  and children are more likely to get sick from the flu. We all have a responsibility to reduce the disease burden the flu causes.

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Links to key resources on the burden of influenza - CDC

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Department of health regulates and setting goals to encourage staff members of health care facilities to achieve certain vaccination rates contributes to increased public uptake of the vaccine.

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New York State Department of Health | Health Data NY

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This dataset contains the results of the annual report of influenza vaccination rates among healthcare personnel (HCP) with patient contact at healthcare facilities and agencies in New York State. New York Codes, Rules and Regulations, Title 10, Section 2.59 (10 NYCRR Section 2.59). 10 NYCRR Section 2.59 requires any Article 28, 36, or 40 healthcare facility or agency to document the number and percentage of personnel vaccinated against influenza for the current season and report these data to the New York State Department of Health.

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Influenza Vaccination Rates for Health Care Personnel by Facility Chart: 2018-2019 | State of New York

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This dataset contains the results of the annual report of influenza vaccination rates among healthcare personnel (HCP) with patient contact at healthcare facilities and agencies in New York State. New York Codes, Rules and Regulations, Title 10, Section 2.59 (10 NYCRR Section 2.59).

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Official news from the Office of the Governor

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Official news from the Office of the Governor

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NYS DOH provides press releases when necessary to share important information about the flu.
Rationale: While providers and health care facilities are tracking the flu, the Office of the Governor offers press releases. With the recent pandemic, the Governor has been more active on social media with press conferences as well. This allows information to be delivered live through popular social media and news sites to reach individuals at home.

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Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the total number of flu cases in New York State has eclipsed the record number of seasonal cases since the New York State Department of Health began tracking flu cases during the 1998-99 season. The latest influenza surveillance report for the week ending February 22 shows 131,604 laboratory-confirmed cases so far this season. Previously, the most lab-confirmed influenza cases reported during a single flu season was 128,892 in 2017-18. While this year's flu season has reached historic levels, last week, the number of laboratory-confirmed flu cases decreased 26 percent and hospitalizations decreased 13 percent.

"While I am encouraged to see yet another decrease in the number of flu cases across the state, this year's flu season has been grueling and New Yorkers must remain vigilant against the spread of the virus," Governor Cuomo said. "If you haven't already been vaccinated it's not too late. I urge you to get a vaccine and to please stay home if you are sick to avoid spreading the illness."

Although seasonal flu activity continues to be widespread across New York State, for the second consecutive week, the number of laboratory-confirmed influenza cases and hospitalizations decreased. Last week, 10,520 laboratory confirmed cases of influenza have been reported and 1,454 people have been hospitalized with influenza. As indicated in the influenza surveillance report, there were three new influenza-associated pediatric deaths, for a total of nine influenza-associated pediatric deaths this season. Two of the new three influenza-associated pediatric deaths occurred in NYC while the other was a resident of the North Country region. Flu season occurs primarily from October through May.

Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said, "Even though this year's flu season has been record-setting, we have seen a decline in the number of laboratory-confirmed cases and the number of hospitalizations for the second consecutive week. While these numbers are encouraging, unfortunately, we endured three tragic flu-associated pediatric deaths this week. I urge New Yorkers to remain vigilant and take the appropriate steps to help stop the spread of the flu."

Influenza activity data is available on the New York State Flu Tracker. The Flu Tracker is a dashboard on the New York State Health Connector that provides timely information about local, regional and statewide influenza activity.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conduct studies each year to determine how effective each year's vaccine is at protecting against influenza. CDC preliminary vaccine effectiveness estimates indicate that the 2019-20 flu vaccine is providing substantial protective benefit this season. Flu vaccines are reducing doctor visits associated with flu illness by 45 percent overall and 55 percent in children. This is consistent with estimates of flu vaccine effectiveness from previous seasons that ranged from 40 - 60 percent.

The State Health Department recommends and urges that everyone six months of age or older receive an influenza vaccination. It is especially important that children six months - eight years-old who have gotten less than two doses of flu vaccine in their lifetime receive two doses of flu vaccine spaced at least four weeks apart for best protection against flu this season. In addition, everyday preventative actions can help stop the spread of flu and other respiratory viruses:

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

Stay home when you are sick.

Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.

Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

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Governor Cuomo Announces Record-Breaking Total Number of Flu Cases in New York Even as Number of Flu Cases Decline for Second Week

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Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the total number of flu cases in New York State has eclipsed the record number of seasonal cases since the New York State Department of Health began tracking flu cases during the 1998-99 season. The latest influenza surveillance report for the week ending February 22 shows 131,604 laboratory-confirmed cases so far this season.

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Meanwhile, the governor gets the information from the DOH, as they continue to report influenza statistics for the public.

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DOH Reminds New Yorkers to Get the Influenza Vaccine - It's not too Late Flu Surveillance Data Now Available on NYS Health Connector
ALBANY, N.Y. (December 20, 2018) - New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker today declared that influenza is now prevalent in New York State. This announcement puts into effect a regulation requiring that healthcare workers who are not vaccinated against influenza wear surgical or procedure masks in areas where patients are typically present.

"The importance of getting vaccinated against influenza to protect yourself, as well as your family and friends, cannot be overstated," said Dr. Zucker. "Healthcare personnel are routinely exposed to sick patients and are also in close contact with vulnerable patients. The requirement that unvaccinated healthcare personnel wear a mask when patients are nearby protects both our critical healthcare workface and at-risk New Yorkers. I encourage all New Yorkers older than six months to get their influenza vaccine as soon as possible."

The Regulation for Prevention of Influenza Transmission first went into effect during the 2013-14 influenza season. It requires unvaccinated health care workers in certain healthcare facilities regulated by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) to wear surgical or procedure masks during those times when the Commissioner declares that influenza is prevalent in New York State.

The Department has also launched the New York State Flu Tracker, a new dashboard on the New York State Health Connector that is an easy to understand source of influenza data to keep the public informed of rates of influenza in their county. The dashboard displays the number of laboratory-confirmed influenza cases by county, week and influenza type (A, B or not specified) for the current season and the three previous seasons.

The goal of the Tracker is to provide timely information about local, regional and statewide influenza activity throughout the current influenza season. The Tracker answers questions such as what influenza activity looks like this week, what it looks like this season and how it compares to previous seasons. This information helps to monitor influenza-related illness, determine which influenza viruses are circulating and communicate when and where influenza activity is occurring. Click here for a video demonstration of how you can use New York State Flu Tracker.

Data are updated every Thursday by 5 p.m. during the influenza season. The influenza season occurs primarily from October through May, often peaking in February.

This influenza season, New York has had 3,283 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza in 43 counties and all 5 boroughs of New York City. During this period, there have been 923 influenza-related hospitalizations reported, and one influenza-associated pediatric death. Over the last three seasons, there have been 19 influenza-associated pediatric deaths in New York and an average of 15,101 influenza-related hospitalizations.

Influenza is a serious illness that can lead to hospitalization or death. It is not too late to get vaccinated, and there are ample amounts of the vaccine available.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conduct studies each year to determine how effective each year's vaccine is at protecting against influenza-related illness and, while the effectiveness can vary from year to year, studies show that the vaccine remains the most effective way to protect public health. Additionally, studies show that the influenza vaccine can make the illness milder in certain cases where an individual was vaccinated but still contracted influenza.

NYSDOH recommends that everyone six months of age or older receive an influenza vaccination. The vaccine is especially important for people at high risk for complications from influenza, including children under age 2, pregnant women and adults over age 65. People with preexisting conditions such as asthma and heart disease are also at greater risk as are individuals with weakened immune systems due to disease or medications such as chemotherapy or chronic steroid use. Since influenza virus can spread easily by coughing or sneezing, it is also important that family members and people in regular contact with high risk individuals get an influenza vaccine.

Most health insurance plans cover influenza vaccines. Individuals and families without health insurance should check with their county health department to find out if local clinics will be held to provide free or low-cost vaccinations. Children 2 years of age and older and adults may also be able to get their influenza vaccine at a local pharmacy.

For additional information about influenza, including how it is monitored in New York State, visit the Department of Health web page at: http://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/influenza/seasonal/.

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New York State Department of Health Announces Influenza Is Prevalent In New York State

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DOH Reminds New Yorkers to Get the Influenza Vaccine - It's not too Late Flu Surveillance Data Now Available on NYS Health Connector ALBANY, N.Y. (December 20, 2018) - New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker today declared that influenza is now prevalent in New York State.

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Weekly Flu Activity and Surveillance in NYS

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Weekly Flu Activity and Surveillance in NYS

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The New York State Department of Health  tracks and reports flu data weekly, providing up to date information.

Rationale: Medical providers and health care facilities pay close attention to DOH reports on Influenza. Flu season can be declared at any time, and providers must be prepared to deal with illnesses and prevention.

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Influenza can cause serious side effects such as shortness of breath, high fever, dehydration, and seizures. It not something everyone will recover from.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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SmartFind Flu ChatBot

Influenza (flu) can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. Flu symptoms usually come on suddenly. People who have flu often feel some or all of these symptoms:

fever* or feeling feverish/chills

cough

sore throat

runny or stuffy nose

muscle or body aches

headaches

fatigue (tiredness)

some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.

*It's important to note that not everyone with flu will have a fever.

More information is available at Flu and COVID-19 symptoms.

This video includes common signs and symptoms of flu.

Flu Complications

Most people who get flu will recover in a few days to less than two weeks, but some people will develop complications (such as pneumonia) as a result of flu, some of which can be life-threatening and result in death.

Sinus and ear infections are examples of moderate complications from flu, while pneumonia is a serious flu complication that can result from either flu virus infection alone or from co-infection of flu virus and bacteria. Other possible serious complications triggered by flu can include inflammation of the heart (myocarditis), brain (encephalitis) or muscle tissues (myositis, rhabdomyolysis), and multi-organ failure (for example, respiratory and kidney failure). Flu virus infection of the respiratory tract can trigger an extreme inflammatory response in the body and can lead to sepsis, the body's life-threatening response to infection. Flu also can make chronic medical problems worse. For example, people with asthma may experience asthma attacks while they have flu, and people with chronic heart disease may experience a worsening of this condition triggered by flu.

People at Higher Risk from Flu

Anyone can get sick with flu, even healthy people, and serious problems related to flu can happen to anyone at any age, but some people are at higher risk of developing serious flu-related complications if they get sick. This includes people 65 years and older, people of any age with certain chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), pregnant people and children younger than 5 years, but especially those younger than 2 years old.

Signs and Symptoms

Cold

Influenza (Flu)

People experiencing these warning signs should obtain medical care right away.

In children

Fast breathing or trouble breathing

Bluish lips or face

Ribs pulling in with each breath

Chest pain

Severe muscle pain (child refuses to walk)

Dehydration (no urine for 8 hours, dry mouth, no tears when crying)

Not alert or interacting when awake

Seizures

Fever above 104 degrees Fahrenheit that is not controlled by fever-reducing medicine

In children younger than 12 weeks, any fever

Fever or cough that improve but then return or worsen

Worsening of chronic medical conditions

In adults

Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath

Persistent pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen

Persistent dizziness, confusion, inability to arouse

Seizures

Not urinating

Severe muscle pain

Severe weakness or unsteadiness

Fever or cough that improve but then return or worsen

Worsening of chronic medical conditions

These lists are not all inclusive. Please consult your medical provider for any other symptom that is severe or concerning.

Difference Between Flu and COVID-19

Influenza (Flu) and COVID-19 are both contagious respiratory illnesses, but they are caused by different viruses. COVID-19 is caused by infection with a coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2, and flu is caused by infection with influenza viruses. You cannot tell the difference between flu and COVID-19 by symptoms alone because some of the symptoms are the same. Some PCR tests can differentiate between flu and COVID-19 at the same time. If one of these tests is not available, many testing locations provide flu and COVID-19 tests separately. Talk to a healthcare provider about getting tested for both flu and COVID-19 if you have symptoms.

Learn more

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Know the common symptoms of flu and possible complications. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death.

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Center for Disease Control and Prevention Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report

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Center for Disease Control and Prevention Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report

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The CDC offers an interactive, user-friendly map that highlights important (and current) data such as which influenza strains are prevalent and the percentage of visits for influenza-like illnesses.

Rationale: Influenza is monitored throughout the world, which allows experts to determine which strains of the flu to vaccinate against for the upcoming season.

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Influenza Positive Tests Reported to CDC {{panelTitleSurveillance}}, {{panelTitleArea_Others}},

{{panelTitleSeason}} Season, week ending {{panelTitleWeekEnding}}

Reported by: U.S. WHO/NREVSS Collabroating Laboratories and ILINet

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centers for disease control and prevention

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National, Regional, and State Level Outpatient Illness and Viral Surveillance

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Influenza Positive Tests Reported to CDC {{panelTitleSurveillance}}, {{panelTitleArea_Others}}, {{panelTitleSeason}} Season, week ending {{panelTitleWeekEnding}} Reported by: U.S. WHO/NREVSS Collabroating Laboratories and ILINet