Flu Bigger Threat To NYC Than Coronavirus, Experts Say

NEW YORK CITY — While the new coronavirus continues to dominate headlines and news alerts, the flu is a much bigger threat to New Yorkers, health experts said.

Influenza-related illnesses this week climbed to nearly 22 million nationwide, and while the coronavirus threat is serious — more than 24,000 cases have been reported in China, where the virus originated — the odds of catching it in the United States are almost zero, according to Healthline.

With only 12 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S., and none in New York, the odds are the flu is a much more serious risk to your health.

There were 8,602 cases of flu confirmed in New York City inthe week ending Feb 1, the state's department of health said.

“So far this season in the U.S. (there’s been) a mortality rate from flu-like illnesses and pneumonia of around 7 percent,” Dr. Charles Bailey, an infectious disease specialist with St. Joseph Hospital in Irvine, California, told Healthline.

“Clearly, if there’s no panic concerning the current flu season — which is a fairly normal one — panic over (the) domestic 2019 coronavirus situation doesn’t seem justified at present.”

So far this season, 12,000 people in the U.S. have died due to flu-related illnesses and complications, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those deaths, 10 were children.

The CDC estimates that, so far this season, there have been at least 22 million illnesses, 210,000 hospitalizations and 12,000 deaths from the flu.

Typically, the groups most at risk of the flu are older adults, very young children, pregnant women and those with certain chronic medical conditions.

According to the CDC, symptoms of the flu include:

• Fever or feeling feverish/chills (though not everyone with flu will have a fever)
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle or body aches
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.