As we move further into flu season, New York\u2019s top doctor has a warning when it comes to COVID-19.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing more of right now in New York state is COVID,\u201d said Dr. Jim McDonald, commissioner of the New York State Department of Health. \u201cFor every one person I have in the hospital attributed to flu, I have three attributed to COVID.\u201d<\/p>\n
McDonald said he\u2019s concerned New Yorkers aren\u2019t as prepared as they could be for COVID this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I look at our vaccine numbers for flu across the state, they\u2019re about the same as last year,” said Dr. McDonald. “When I look at the COVID numbers for vaccines, we\u2019re about 30% less than last year. That concerns me.\u201d<\/p>\n
As of Nov. 26, 2025, the vaccination numbers for some upstate New York counties varies from 20% to 30% for flu and 6% to 10% for COVID.<\/p>\n
With the holiday season being a busy time for get-togethers, traveling and going to events, being in close proximity to others can increase the likelihood that you can become sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs you look through the holiday season, we do gather more, that\u2019s great, but you\u2019re around more people,\u201d said McDonald. \u201cYou spread germs more effectively inside. If you get that COVID and flu vaccine, you\u2019re going to be in better shape.\u201d<\/p>\n
To get your respiratory system in the best shape it can be in, is there any truth to the notion that you can boost your immunity?<\/p>\n
Dr. Danielle Wales from Albany Med Health System recommends checking with your doctor before buying any over-the-counter products.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s important to know that the supplements don\u2019t actually treat the illness too,\u201d said Wales, internal medicine & pediatrician, Albany Med Health System. \u201cSupplements some people find that they benefit them and that\u2019s great, but you should remember if you get the flu and you get sick, you should make sure you\u2019re reaching out to your doctor to see if you need to do anything, especially if you have a major illness.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As we move further into flu season, New York\u2019s top doctor has a warning when it comes to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":390612,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[40737,5229,31018,210,405,403,17050,50,5226,5225,163943,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,5284],"class_list":{"0":"post-425609","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-albany-capital-region","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-app-health","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-city","14":"tag-new-york-state","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-newyork","17":"tag-newyorkcity","18":"tag-nicole-neuman","19":"tag-ny","20":"tag-nyc","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-united-states-of-america","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-usa","27":"tag-vod"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115664943032977207","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425609\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/390612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}