TL;DR
Get oils, diffusers and self-care delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
New York recorded 10,842 lab-confirmed flu cases through the week ending Oct. 24, compared with 2,657 by the same point in 2025, according to the state dashboard. Health Commissioner James McDonald urged residents to get vaccinated, while officials said the season remains early and the figures do not establish how severe it will become.
New York had 10,842 lab-confirmed flu cases through the week ending Oct. 24, nearly four times the 2,657 cases recorded by the same point in 2025, according to the state’s Seasonal Respiratory Virus Dashboard. State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald called the season an early start and urged residents to get vaccinated, while cautioning that it is too soon to know how it will develop.
The increase includes a sharp rise in the latest weekly figures: New York reported 4,172 cases for the week ending Oct. 24, compared with 910 cases for the week ending Oct. 25, 2025. Those are weekly counts, distinct from the year-to-date totals. The figures are lab-confirmed cases recorded in the state dashboard; they do not represent every flu infection in New York.
More than 4,000 of the statewide cases were among children younger than 17, the dashboard data showed. Nassau County had recorded 1,034 cases and Suffolk County 735 so far this year. The report does not give a comparable county-by-county breakdown for the same point last year.
McDonald said about 18% of eligible New Yorkers had received a flu shot this season at the time of the briefing. The reported vaccination rates were 16% in Suffolk County and 19% in Nassau County. He said fewer than half of adults in the state were vaccinated last year, and that he had seen some signs of increased uptake in recent days.
Rising Cases and Low Vaccination
The year-over-year increase means flu activity is already higher than at the corresponding point last season, making the current counts relevant to families, schools and health services. The age breakdown shows that children account for a substantial number of reported cases, though the supplied data do not specify how many required medical care or how the total compares with last year among children.
Vaccination is the immediate action state officials are emphasizing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends an annual flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older. McDonald said it takes about two weeks for the vaccine to take effect and urged people to get vaccinated ahead of Thanksgiving gatherings. The case figures alone do not show whether vaccination rates caused the increase or predict how many people will become seriously ill.
McDonald also pointed to the burden of flu in the previous year, saying more than 27,000 people were hospitalized and 600 died in New York, including 15 children. Those figures were his account of last year’s toll; they are not outcomes from the current season.
Products Worth Considering
Levoit Eleva 500X HEPA Air Purifier for Large Rooms
Levoit Vital 100S-P Air Purifier with Washable Pre-Filter
Levoit Core 400S-P Smart Air Purifier for Large Rooms
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
How This Season Compares
The comparison is between counts recorded through similar late-October weeks: 10,842 cases through the week ending Oct. 24 this year and 2,657 through the corresponding point in 2025. The figures support the description of cases as nearly quadrupled year over year, but they are a snapshot of reported, lab-confirmed infections, not a final seasonal total.
New York is reporting an early start, but the material provided does not include statewide hospitalization or death totals for the current season, nor a measure of how much testing or reporting may have changed. McDonald, a pediatrician, said the vaccine was especially important this year and urged residents to act before holiday gatherings. The CDC recommendation cited in the report covers people aged 6 months and older.
What the Early Counts Cannot Show
The dashboard figures do not establish how severe the season will be, whether cases will continue to rise, or how many infections have gone untested or unreported. The source material provides no current statewide hospitalization or death count and no age-specific comparison with last year. It also does not explain whether testing and reporting practices have changed between the two periods.
McDonald’s description of the season as concerning is an assessment by the state health commissioner, not a forecast of its final impact. The available figures are a dated snapshot through Oct. 24, and later reporting could change the picture.
Updates as Flu Season Progresses
The state’s Seasonal Respiratory Virus Dashboard is the source for ongoing case updates. Readers should look for later weekly totals, as well as any published data on hospitalizations, deaths and vaccination coverage, to see whether the early increase continues and how it is affecting different groups.
For now, McDonald is urging New Yorkers to get an annual flu vaccine, with the reported time to take effect at about two weeks. The briefing did not provide a date for another update or a forecast for the season’s peak.
Key Questions
How many flu cases has New York reported so far?
The state dashboard recorded 10,842 lab-confirmed cases through the week ending Oct. 24. The count does not include every infection that may have gone undiagnosed or unreported.
How does that compare with last year?
New York had recorded 2,657 cases by the comparable point in 2025, making this year’s total nearly four times as high. The comparison is between year-to-date lab-confirmed counts, not final totals for either season.
Which areas and age groups are included in the report?
More than 4,000 of the statewide cases were in children younger than 17. Nassau County reported 1,034 cases and Suffolk County 735 so far this year.
What did the state health commissioner recommend?
Dr. James McDonald urged New Yorkers to get an annual flu vaccine. He said it takes about two weeks to take effect; the CDC recommends vaccination for everyone aged 6 months and older.
Does the increase mean this flu season will be worse?
Not necessarily. The figures show a higher number of reported cases at this point in the season, but they do not establish how severe the full season will be. Current hospitalization and death totals were not provided in the report.
Source: newsday.com
