NYC Influenza Cases Jump 100% In Single Week As Flu Season Hits Early

NEW YORK CITY — Flu cases across New York City recently flew through the roof, jumping more than 100 percent in a single week from already-high levels, new data shows.

Roughly 11,500 new influenza cases were detected in the city for the week ending Nov. 26, according to the city's flu surveillance report.

Just one week earlier, there were 5,500 new cases detected, data shows.

The citywide increase in flu-related coughs, sniffles and chills coincides with a statewide rise in influenza cases that, in the words of Gov. Kathy Hochul, are "spiking way too early."

"That's what we're concerned about: a dramatic jump compared to previous years," she said Wednesday.

"A 75 percent increase in positive flu cases since the beginning, and the flu season only started eight weeks ago."

The prospect of a "tripledemic" — in which COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, cases peak roughly at the same time — has worried health experts since the weather started to turn cold.

Hochul outlined steps Wednesday that the state will take in preparation for another potential winter COVID-19 spike. But despite officially "increasing" coronavirus cases in New York City, it's still yet to be seen whether the virus will surge like it did roughly a year ago.

The flu appears to rising sharply across the nation, much earlier than in other seasons, Hochul said.

She and outgoing state health Commissioner Mary Bassett urged New Yorkers to get vaccinated.

"We have highly effective, safe vaccines for both flu and for COVID," Bassett said.