CDC Expected To Respond To Schumer's Request To Send Flu Team To NY
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to respond Monday to Sen. Charles Schumer's request to send a flu surveillance team to New York.
The number of New Yorkers hospitalized for the flu now tops 7,100 statewide. Schumer wants the team to help local and state health officials by studying the spread of the illness.
"A New York specific flu surveillance team would help take the state's temperature on the epidemic and help break its fever," he said. "With record-setting highs this season, it's absolutely critical that New York have the resources it needs to track the flu's path, gather intelligence and combat this powerful virus."
Brooklyn's Borough Park and Sunset Park are two of the hardest hit neighborhoods in the city.
The Wall Street Journal reports Maimonides Medical Center has had to put extra beds in hallways for flu patients.
The CDC says, based on the latest data, the flu season hasn't even peaked yet.
The virus has killed more than three dozen children nationwide.