‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through the city, children were sick, and doctors were busy. The stockings were hung by the chimneys with care, but parties were canceled, guests too ill to be there.
New York City has been awash in a noxious cocktail of viruses, with state health department data showing a sharp increase in the flu, bumps in COVID-19 and RSV, and a dash of strep and norovirus.
Educators reported lots of absences as the nation’s largest public school system limped into the holidays.
Attendance at the city’s public schools dropped from over 85% late last week, to 80% on Monday, though some of the decline is likely due to families leaving early for vacation.
Tuesday was the last day of school before break.
Danielle Lerro, an assistant principal in the Bronx, said attendance at her school plummeted in recent days because of the flu and other illnesses. “We have had awful absences,” she said. “We normally have 15 kids absent and we’ve had several days of 50-plus. A lot of teacher absences as well, but nothing that has severely disrupted class.”
Lerro said one positive result from remote learning during the pandemic is that teachers are accustomed to posting lessons and assignments online, so many students have been able to keep up while they’re sick.
Education department officials recommended hand-washing, covering coughs and staying up to date on vaccines to help stem the spread.
Doctors have said the flu season is off to an especially early and intense start.
Jessica George, a pediatrician at Tribeca Pediatrics, said she’s seen a big increase in sick visits in the past couple weeks, especially for the flu. “We’re experiencing a bad year of the flu,” she said.
On top of that, fewer New York City children have gotten flu shots this year, down about 6.5% compared to the same time last year, according to the city health department.
“That may be because they just didn’t have time to get it, and are used to getting it later in the year,” George said. “Whatever the case may be, many fewer people are vaccinated.”
The most recent tally from the state health department showed lab-confirmed cases of the flu spiked 83% compared to the previous week. Lab-confirmed cases of RSV were also up by 23%.
Some parents said they sent their children to school wearing masks, hoping to avoid catching the bug before the holiday. Parent groups on Facebook featured parents desperately trying to sell tickets to “The Nutcracker” and “Christmas Spectacular” because their entire families had been sick.
George said she and her pediatric colleagues are always in the tough position of breaking the news to families that the kids are sick and they may have to change their plans for the holidays.
“Illnesses don’t always cooperate with our plans,” she said. “Gathering with people is certainly going to be more fun when we’re all well again.”
George said her advice to families is that everyone should be fever free for about 24 hours before getting together with others.
