COVID-Flu 'Twindemic' Threatens NYC, Health Officials Warn

NEW YORK CITY — A double-barrel "twindemic" of COVID-19 and a rampant flu season threatens to blast New York City this winter, health officials warn.

City doctors Tuesday urged New Yorkers to get their flu shots to dodge an incoming potential wave of influenza infections that overlaps with the still-raging coronavirus pandemic.

The flu season in the Southern Hemisphere — which serves as a barometer for its northern counterpart — arrived early and has been "more robust" this year, said Machelle Allen, the chief medical officer for Health + Hospitals.

“This coupled with reduced mask wearing means that our flu season could be more serious this year, which is why it is more important than ever to get the flu shot," she said in a statement.

The warning likely will be bad news for New Yorkers eager to put the coronavirus pandemic behind them.

COVID-19 levels have remained "steady" in the past week, with positivity hovering at 9.2 percent, according to city data.

But health officials warn that the coronavirus infections could rise again, as they did in previous cold holiday months.

Influenza activity in New York has been "widespread" for two weeks running, according to a statewide report. Labs have detected a 49 percent increase in influenza samples in the past week, the report states.

City health officials warned that people can become sick with both the flu and COVID-19.

Not only that, some experts even warn a "tridemic" could happen this year as the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, shows early signs of surging across the country.

Nationally, some 7,334 RSV tests came back positive for the week ending Oct. 15, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That's up from 6,518 and 5,210 positive tests for the two respective weeks before, data shows.

RSV is fairly common virus that can cause breathing difficulties in young children, babies and people with weakened immune systems.

“You and I get it as a common cold,” Dr. Elizabeth Mack, a pediatric critical care physician at Medical University of South Carolina, said in a statement.

“But babies with any viral illness are more likely to struggle with it because their airways are smaller. It's hard to clear the secretions."

Experts haven't yet developed a specific treatment for RSV. They encourage people to get flu shots and COVID boosters to help lessen the blow.

“We don’t want a triple whammy, a triple pandemic,” Chicago physician Dr. Juanita Mora, who on Saturday saw a family of five kids, all with RSV, told the AP.

The flu vaccine, which has been updated since last year, can prevent illness and hospitalizations, doctors said.

New Yorkers can call schedule flu shots at Health + Hospitals facilities by calling 844-NYC-4NYC, or they can check here for a list of walk-in appointments available.