Tri-State hospitals urge patients, staff to mask up amid spike in COVID, flu, RSV
COVID and flu vaccination rates on Long Island have plummeted well below the national average
VALLEY STREAM, Nassau County (WABC) -- With flu, COVID and RSV infections on the rise amid the holiday season, hospitals in New York and New Jersey are issuing an urgent plea: mask up!
New York State says flu is now prevalent and is requiring workers in health care settings to wear masks. RWJ Barnabas Health in New Jersey is also recommending staff members to mask up.
At Valley Stream Pediatrics, 3-year-old Kylah got a flu shot. Dr. Marc Lashley of Allied Physicians Group on Long Island, is wishing all his patients would do the same.
"I'm very concerned that the flu vaccine rate has dropped. It's really plummeted," he said.
The latest vaccination numbers from New York State and the CDC are not encouraging. As of last week, in Nassau and Suffolk counties, the COVID vaccination rate was a little more than 6% whereas nationally it's at 20%.
As for the flu shot, Nassau and Suffolk are reporting fewer than 22% vaccinated, when nationally, the flu vaccination rate is more than 38%.
"So, having low rates of vaccination, particularly for daycare and kindergarten children, is a very big concern," said Dr. Sharon Nachman of Stony Brook Children's Hospital. "Those kids, as we know from other studies, are the ones who bring flu home to the rest of the family."
Experts say it's vaccine hesitancy and vaccine fatigue after the pandemic that's what's driving the numbers lower. It's been the case with the COVID vaccine for a while, but now, it's the case for other vaccines as well.
In addition, doctors on Long Island told Eyewitness News that RSV cases have now reached double digits at most Long Island hospitals, with kids getting the virus at a higher rate here than across the country.
"It's really probably 80% of the sick visits we're seeing right now," Dr. Lashley said.
While there is no RSV vaccine for school children, there is an injectable antibody for infants, which unlike a vaccine, can prevent the virus immediately, and therefore prevent more serious illness.
That's a big concern, especially as we approach the holiday travel season.
"For the next few weeks, they're going to be sharing that RSV with all their family members," Dr. Nachman said.
They say, better late than never.
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