The state of New York declared a public-health emergency yesterday amid the worst flu outbreak in years.
The nasty bug has already claimed the lives of two children and 10 elderly people in the state — a staggering toll that sparked a special executive order by Gov. Cuomo that allows pharmacies to administer flu shots to kids under 18.
New York has been blasted with more than four times more flu cases so far this year than all of last winter — up from 4,404 to 19,128, according to the New York State Department of Health.
That’s part of why some New Yorkers are rushing to pharmacies to get the vaccine.
“People are dying, and that’s really scary,” said 23-year-old student Dylan Scott, who got the shot at a Duane Reade yesterday.
He added, “I feel like I have the responsibility to protect the community by getting the flu shot.”
He has good reason to take steps to stay healthy.
More than twice as many flu-plagued New Yorkers checked into hospitals this year than last — up to 2,884 from 1,169.
The outbreak — which health officials say is the worst since 2009 — has clogged hospitals, emptied pharmacy shelves and forced workers to call out sick.
Elderly residents yesterday took the health warning seriously, saying they’re taking extra precautions to stay healthy.
“When you think of the flu, you think sniffles and a bad cough — but it kills people now,” said 64-year-old Harlem resident Edward Nixon.
A Cuomo spokesman said two “grade-school-aged” children had died in the state outside New York City limits.
Pharmacists in New York had previously only been authorized to give flu vaccinations to adults 18 and over — but now anyone over the age of six months can receive one for the next 30 days.
“All New Yorkers, children and adults alike, [should] have access to critically needed flu vaccines,” Cuomo said.
A total of 18 people have died from the flu in the country this year. Flu vaccinations are effective in 62 percent of cases, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The health emergency comes after Boston city officials last week declared the same health emergency, warning residents to wash their hands and get shots.
That’s exactly what Harlem resident Rosetta Gibbs is doing.
“I’m washing my hands many times a day and staying out of the cold as much as possible,” the 65-year-old Gibbs said.
She added, “There are so many sick people out there. I don’t want to catch it next.”
Alicia Gauvin, 22, said she got the shot because “I feel like I need to do this.”
“My parents are really worried because I recently moved here from Massachusetts,” she said. “I’m surrounded by people in the subway, on the bus. The chance of catching something is really high now.”
(Almay)