Health officials predict very active flu season, urge people to get their flu vaccine
MANHASSET (WABC) -- With flu season quickly approaching, experts are warning that this could be one of the most active seasons yet.
One Long Island mother is preparing for the worst after she fell seriously ill last fall, just days after returning from a Taylor Swift concert in Toronto.
Now she's urging others to get vaccinated before the holidays.
Denise Sussman and her daughter had traveled all the way from Sea Cliff to Toronto to see a Taylor Swift concert.
It ended with Denise vowing to never forget her flu shot again.
"It just took away my entire life for 3 weeks, almost a month," Sussman said.
This year, Denise got her vaccine already.
Doctors at Northwell are openly frustrated about why it has been such an uphill battle to convince patients to do the same.
"We have public health officials in the United States who are bad mouthing vaccines that have been around for years based on faulty evidence and misinformation," Dr. Bruce Farber, Northwell Epidemiology Chie,f said.
They say that while the flu vaccine may not always prevent flu, it will prevent most deaths and hospitalizations from it.
Last year, more than 25,000 Americans died from the flu.
That's more fatalities than COVID caused and nearly 300 children died. The vast majority had never gotten the vaccine.
"It's safe and they're not gonna get the flu from it and people just are very, very reluctant," Northwell Primary Care Physician Dr. Susan Hirsch said.
Flu season typically begins in November in the Tri-State area and lasts through February. Public health officials have already been tracking it in the southern hemisphere and they do predict a bad season.
"You've seen that happen with measles, we're expecting the same thing to happen with flu. This is what happens when you let your guard down," Dr. Dwayne Breining of Northwell Health Lab Services said.
They also say that now is the time to get your vaccine before crowded holiday travel.
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