NEW YORK – Flu season has arrived earlier than usual in New York City, with cases rising sharply over the past month and spreading quickly across the region. Health officials say New York City, along with Long Island and parts of North Jersey, is experiencing some of the highest levels of flu-like illness in the country. The city’s acting health commissioner, Dr. Michelle Morse, warned that flu cases are “skyrocketing” and urged residents to get vaccinated, wear masks when sick, and take precautions to limit the spread of the virus as winter begins.
The surge has already disrupted schools, including Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, which temporarily closed its Dyker Heights campus after a large portion of its students fell ill. Nearly one-third of the school’s upper and middle school population became sick within days, prompting administrators to shut down classes for two days and conduct intensive disinfection before reopening. While public school attendance across the city has not yet seen a major impact, health officials are closely monitoring whether outbreaks like this become more widespread.
The dominant flu strain circulating this season is H3N2, which has undergone mutations that may help it partially evade the immune system. This raises concerns that the flu vaccine could be less effective at preventing infection compared with some past seasons, though early international data suggest vaccination still reduces the risk of severe illness and hospitalization. Experts caution that it is too early to determine whether this season will ultimately be considered more dangerous, even as the rapid increase in cases raises alarms.
This early surge follows an unusually severe flu season last year, which was classified as high severity nationwide. In New York City, the pace of infections this year has been notably faster, with laboratory-confirmed flu cases surpassing levels typically not seen until late December. Emergency rooms across the city reported a sharp rise in flu diagnoses beginning in late November, with the share of patients testing positive more than doubling week over week during that period.
Statewide, influenza hospitalizations have already exceeded 3,000, approaching a significant portion of last season’s total far earlier than expected. Vaccination rates remain a concern, particularly among children, as health officials report a decline in pediatric flu shots compared with last year. With winter still ahead, public health leaders continue to emphasize vaccination, early treatment, and preventive measures as the best tools to slow the spread and reduce strain on hospitals.