Flu activity continues to climb in US with at least 15 million cases: CDC

(NEW YORK) — New York is reporting the highest number of flu hospitalizations recorded in a single week, the state’s health department said on Friday.

During the week ending Dec. 27, 4,546 people were hospitalized with flu, a 24% increase from the 3,666 who were hospitalized the previous week, according to data from the New York State Department of Health (NYSOH)

It comes after the state reported a record-breaking number of flu cases in a single week with 72,133 infections during the week ending Dec. 20.

NYSDOH issued a declaration last month stating influenza is prevalent in New York, which requires health care facilities and agencies to ensure any staff who have not received this year’s flu vaccine wear masks in any areas where patients and residents may be present.

“We are having a more severe flu season than prior years, almost 1,000 more people were admitted to a hospital during this most recent seven-day period compared to the prior week,” Dr. James McDonald, the state’s health commissioner, said in a statement on Friday.

Meanwhile, flu activity is also spiking nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there have been at least ​7.5 million illnesses, ​81,000 hospitalizations and ​3,100 deaths from flu so far this season.

New York is one of 20 states recording “very high” levels of respiratory illness activity, according to the latest CDC data.

Public health experts previously told ABC News that many of this season’s cases are linked to a new flu strain called subclade K — a variant of the H3N2 virus, which is itself a subtype of influenza A.

Subclade K has been circulating since the summer in other countries and was a main driver of a spike in flu cases in Canada, Japan and the U.K.

Of the 1,600 flu samples tested by the CDC, roughly ​92% were H3N2. Of those samples, nearly ​90% belonged to subclade K.

Experts expect flu-like illnesses to continue to climb in the coming weeks after holiday gatherings and colder weather.

Currently, the CDC recommends that everyone aged 6 months and older, with rare exceptions, get a flu vaccine.  

The federal health agency states on its website that getting an annual flu shot prevents millions of illnesses and flu-related doctors’ visits every year and is especially important for those at higher risk of serious complications.

The flu vaccine is currently available to New Yorkers aged 2 years and older at a health care provider’s office or at participating pharmacies while children aged 6 months and older can receive the flu vaccine at a health care provider’s office, according to the state health department.

“There is still time to get a flu shot and remember, flu can be treated with antiviral medication if started within 48 hours of symptom onset and your doctor deems appropriate,” McDonald said.

ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The first U.S. case of a more severe strain of mpox without any recent travel history has been identified in California.

Health officials said this week that the case was confirmed in a Long Beach resident. The patient required hospitalization and is now isolating and recovering at home.

No other identifying details were provided about the patient, including name, age or sex.

While this is the seventh case of the more severe strain confirmed in the U.S this year, it is the first without known travel, according to local officials.

Officials say the risk to the general public is low and the health department is conducting an investigation, including working to identify the patient’s potential sources of exposure.

“We are taking this very seriously and ensuring our community and health care partners remain vigilant so we can prevent any more cases,” Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said in a press release. “This underscores the importance of continued surveillance, early response and vaccination.”

There are two types of the virus that cause mpox: clade I and clade II, with clade roughly meaning they are descended from a common ancestor organism. Clade I has historically been associated with severe illness and death, and is endemic to parts of central and western Africa, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Clade II was responsible for a large outbreak that peaked in summer 2022, leading to more than 100,000 cases in 122 countries, including more than 30,000 cases in the U.S.

The less severe strain in the U.S. has continued circulating at low levels and has remained relatively stable.

Parts of Africa have been dealing with sustained person-to-person spread of the more severe strain of mpox. All six previously confirmed cases of the more severe strain in the U.S. have been among people who had recently traveled to areas associated with the outbreak in central and eastern Africa, according to the CDC.

In November 2024, California reported the first domestic case of the more severe strain in a traveler from Africa who experienced mild illness.

People with mpox, which was formerly known as monkeypox, often get a rash that can be located on hands, feet, chest, face, mouth or near the genitals, the CDC said.

Most people with mpox typically recover within two to four weeks without specific treatments.

Currently, the JYNNEOS vaccine, a two-dose vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration to prevent smallpox and mpox, is the only vaccine being used in the U.S.

The JYNNEOS vaccine is  recommended for adults at high risk for mpox, which includes people who are gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men and have recent or upcoming risk factors like multiple sexual partners, intimate contact with someone who may have mpox, or sex at commercial venues.

ABC News’ Mary Kekatos contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Thursday a series of proposed actions to limit access to gender-affirming care for minors.

It comes after HHS released a final version of its report on pediatric gender-affirming care last month, claiming it found “medical dangers posed to children,” which received pushback from medical groups.

Speaking at press event, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said doctors providing gender-affirming care for minors are endangering lives and lambasted medical organizations that have supported such care for transgender youth.

“They betrayed their Hippocratic Oath to do no harm,” Kennedy said. “So-called ‘gender affirming care’ has inflicted lasting physical and psychological damage on vulnerable young people. This is not medicine. It is malpractice. We’re done with junk science, driven by ideological pursuits, not the well-being of children.”

Kennedy also signed a declaration finding that gender-affirming surgeries do not meet professional recognized standards of health care, with an HHS press release stating that doctors who perform these procedures would be deemed “out of compliance with those standards.” 

The proposed regulations include actions from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Office of Civil Rights (OCR).

CMS will issue a proposal barring hospitals from participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs if they provide gender-affirming to children under age 18.

Another CMS proposal will prohibit federal Medicaid funding for hospitals providing gender-affirming care on children under age 18 and funding from the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Additionally, the FDA is issuing warning letters to 12 manufacturers and retailers for “illegal marketing” of breast binders, a compression garment worn to flatten the appearance of breasts, to children with gender dysphoria.

The agency said the letters will note that the companies are facing significant regulatory violations and how to take corrective action.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary claimed that long-term use of breast binders among children has been linked to pain and compromised lung function. Physicians say chest binding is generally considered safe when practiced with a physician’s guidance.

“Pushing transgender ideology in children is predatory. It’s wrong, and it needs to stop,” Makary said at Thursday’s press event.

The top pediatrician group in the nation reacted to Kennedy’s declaration and the proposed actions, saying they set a “dangerous precedent.”

“Unprecedented actions and harmful rhetoric [took] place today,” the American Academy of Pediatrics said in response to the HHS announcement. They went further, saying that the proposed rules were a “baseless intrusion in the patient-physician relationship.”

Lastly, the HHS announced the OCR will move to reverse a Biden-era rule that included gender dysphoria within the definition of a disability.

November’s HHS report alleged that gender-affirming care — including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and gender-affirming surgeries — caused significant, long-term damage. 

An early version of the report, published in May, referred to itself as a “comprehensive review” of transgender care for children and teens, calling for a broader use of psychotherapy for young people with gender dysphoria rather than gender-affirming medical interventions.

The HHS referred to the final version of the report as “peer-reviewed,” but some of those who reviewed the contents are researchers who have spoken against gender affirming care.

Some major medical groups pushed back, stating that psychotherapy first is the standard approach in gender-affirming care and that additional care, such as hormonal therapies, only occurs after in-depth evaluations between patients and doctors.

“Everyone in this country should have access to the care they need to stay healthy, including transgender and nonbinary young people,” Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, senior vice president of public engagement campaigns at The Trevor Project, a nonprofit focusing on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ+ youth, said in a statement.

“Personal medical decisions ought to be made between patients, their doctors, and their families — not through a one-size-fits-all mandate from the federal government,” the statement continued. “The multitude of efforts we are seeing from federal legislators to strip transgender and nonbinary youth of the health care they need is deeply troubling.”

In January, Trump signed an executive order stating the U.S. would not “fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support” gender transition of those under age 19 and would “rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.”

Transgender adults and youth may experience extreme psychological distress due to a mismatch in their gender presentation and identity, medical groups have said. They experience significantly higher rates of suicide than the general population, but some studies suggest gender-affirming care eases those feelings of distress.

While some individuals and groups have called for a slower approach to gender-affirming care for minors, other pediatric gender care experts and advocates have said ending such care can have a harmful effect on patients’ mental health and well-being.

ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.