New York reports record-breaking number of flu hospitalizations in a single week
Stock photo of a sick child. (Natalia Lebedinskaia/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images)
(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.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with oil and gas executives in the East Room of the White House on January 9, 2026, in Washington, DC. Trump is holding the meeting to discuss plans for investment in Venezuela after ousting its leader Nicolás Maduro. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — On the last day to enroll in Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance plans in most states, President Donald Trump presented his own ideas for a health care plan that left some health policy experts that spoke to ABC News with unanswered questions.
Trump has long been asked for a health care plan amid sustained criticism of the ACA, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama. “The Great Healthcare Plan” presents a proposal to shift government insurance subsidies directly to consumers through health savings accounts and take advantage of his “most favored nation” drug price initiative.
“My plan would reduce your insurance premiums by stopping government payoffs to big insurance companies and sending that money directly to the people,” Trump said in a video announcing the plan.
However, the video and one-page fact sheet posted on the White House website were light on specifics about how much would actually go to Americans or how much funding the plan would require or how the funds would be distributed.
Dr. Sachin Jain, a former official in the Department of Health and Human Services during the Obama administration, acknowledged that it’s a “pretty big step” for Trump to articulate health care as a major priority during his second term.
Jain, who is now the president and CEO of SCAN Group and SCAN Health Plan, a not-for-profit Medicare Advantage provider, told ABC News “health care is one of these areas where the devil is always in the details” in terms of what changes could be implemented.
Aside from lowering drug prices through most-favored nation deals and cutting back on insurance subsidies, the plan proposes a cost-sharing provision that the Congressional Budget Office estimates would reduce most Obamacare premiums by 10%.
The plan also proposes to hold insurance companies accountable with a “Plain English” standard and institute pricing requirements for providers who accept Medicare and Medicaid to “prominently post their pricing and fees.”
Trump urged Congress to “pass this framework into law without delay.”
Some provisions will have ‘virtually no effect’
Some health policy experts believe with just a one-page fact sheet that there’s no way to tell how impactful these ideas could be and if they will expand on the plans already in existence through the ACA.
“Several of these provisions would have virtually no effect because they’re already in the ACA, or they look very similar to ones that are already in the ACA,” KFF Senior Vice President Cynthia Cox told ABC News.
Cox, the director of the Program on the ACA at the independent health policy research organization, stressed that Trump’s plan, in many respects, already exists, including price transparency and holding big insurance companies accountable.
Speaking about his plan, the president said Thursday that “nobody’s ever heard of” this idea to give money directly to the consumer, but Jain noted that what’s known as “consumerism” has been around for a long time.
“One of the big challenges with consumerism is health care is a complex industry to navigate, and people don’t often understand what it is that they’re buying or not buying,” Jain told ABC News.
Patients might also have a “degree of anxiety” because they don’t always know what bill they’re going to get, according to Jain.
“When it comes to true consumerism, shopping for health care isn’t like shopping for other goods and services, mostly because people don’t actually want to consume more health care,” he said.
Cox stressed that not only is giving money directly to Americans not a new proposal, it was already in multiple Republican proposals that failed to advance through the Senate in December.
Senate Health Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy argued at the time of the bill’s consideration that his legislative package would have put “thousands in patients’ pockets” to help pay for their out-of-pocket expenses.But the measure failed by a 51-48 vote just days before the expiration of the enhanced ACA tax credits.
White House officials on Thursday said Congress’ legislative plans haven’t been able to “effectuate” Trump’s desire to pay people directly for their health care costs. Without referencing any lawmakers and their existing packages specifically, the administration officials told reporters on Thursday that the White House has engaged with many Hill “allies” on the details of the president’s new plan.
Cox said she believes the president’s new strategy could also create problems for vulnerable Americans, leaving them with no option for health insurance if they don’t get it through their employer.
“One possible interpretation of this [plan] is that, you know, if you give cash to people without any requirement that they use that cash to purchase ACA marketplace coverage — or coverage that has protections for people with pre-existing conditions — then you might see that healthy people use taxpayer dollars to purchase coverage that’s not compliant with the Affordable Care Act,” Cox told ABC News.
“What that would mean is that the ACA or Obamacare markets become destabilized, possibly to the point of collapsing, which would leave people who have pre-existing conditions and who would otherwise rely on that coverage without any options,” she said.
“It could effectively do away with the pre-existing condition protection provisions of the Affordable Care Act, and at least for people who are buying their own health insurance, which is over 20 million people,” Cox added.
What’s next?
Experts suggest it’s too early to tell how soon the new proposal could impact people’s health care, especially with Congress virtually gone through Tuesday.
White House officials said the president wants Congress to codify his plan, but didn’t specify how much input congressional leaders had on the new proposal.
The House last week passed a Democratic-led bill that would see the enhanced premium tax credits extended by three years.
But a path forward that sends the legislation through the Senate to the Resolute Desk for Trump’s signature remains in question.
GOP Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said that there’s “no appetite” for an extension in the upper chamber but pointed to ongoing bipartisan talks on the extensions between senators and House members.
Since Trump’s video announcement, House Speaker Mike Johnson has vowed to continue deliberative discussions with the White House to lower health care costs for Americans.
In reference to the president’s healthcare plan, Cassidy said his Senate committee will “take action” on Trump’s affordability agenda. Republican Sen. Roger Marshall also lobbied to work with the president on a comprehensive package that includes his bill to make health care more affordable.
Still, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray blasted the plan in a post on X, writing that it took the president over a decade to come up with a health care plan that is “one entire page.”
“It will do absolutely NOTHING to stop your premiums from more than doubling,” she said.
Meanwhile, the president’s plan came on the last day to enroll in ACA health insurance plans in most states, with a few exceptions. According to government data, about 1.4 million fewer people have signed up so far this year, as premiums skyrocketed after ACA tax credits expired at the end of 2025.
Cox, at KFF, emphasized that many people could face dire consequences with the health care coverage currently available to them.
“People are really, in some cases, facing life or death decisions because they can’t afford to pay another $10,000 to keep their insurance coverage, which might mean they go uninsured,” she said.
ABC News’ Allison Pecorin and Mary Kekatos contributed to this report.
Striking Kaiser Permanente workers hold signs as they march in front of the Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center on October 14, 2025 in Oakland, California. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Tens of thousands of nurses and health care workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities across California and Hawaii went on strike on Monday morning.
More than 31,000 workers across at least two dozen hospitals and hundreds of clinics run by the non-profit health care system walked off the job at 7 a.m. PT, marking the largest strike of health care professionals so far this year.
The striking workers, who are members of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP), said they are fighting for safe staffing levels and fair wages and compensation.
UNAC/UHCP said many Kaiser facilities are currently experiencing staffing shortages, which is leading to delays in care and a risk of errors, as well as burnout and turnover.
The union also states that Kaiser is seeking wage cuts and a reduction in benefits and retirement, including active medical coverage and pension benefits.
“Kaiser’s own communications to employees reveal exactly why we are striking,” Charmaine Morales, president of UNAC/UHCP, said in a statement. “Instead of addressing unsafe staffing and patient care concerns, Kaiser is issuing messages that pressure workers not to strike, exaggerate the risks of participation, and encourage employees to report one another. That is intimidation.”
The union argues that Kaiser is engaging in unfair labor practices by stalling negotiations and attempting to bypass “the established national bargaining process.”
Both sides have been negotiation since May but are currently in a stalemate. The union filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing Kaiser of walking away from the bargaining table in December.
Additionally, UNAC/UHCP released a report earlier this month, accusing Kaiser of earning a net income and surplus above what is traditional for a non-profit health care system.
The report also criticized Kaiser for allegedly investing in private prisons and ICE detention centers, which the union claims raises “urgent ethical questions.”
“Kaiser isn’t strapped for resources. It’s making choices — and those choices are hurting people. It’s time for accountability,” Morales said in a statement at the time.
In a statement, Kaiser referred to the strike as “unnecessary when such a generous offer is on the table” and said the strike has occurred despite a recent agreement to return to local bargaining.
Kaiser said that as health care costs rise, and many Americans risk losing access to health insurance, it is committed to delivering fair and competitive pay for its staff while protecting affordability for patients.
“Despite the union’s claims, this strike is about wages,” the statement read, in part. “The strike is designed to disrupt the lives of our patients — the very people we areall here to serve.”
The health care system said that all of its hospitals and nearly all of its medical offices will remain open during the strike and that contingency plans have been put in place to ease disruptions.
Kaiser said that some in-person appointments may need to be virtual instead and some appointments, elective surgeries and procedures may need to be rescheduled.
This is not the first time Kaiser workers have gone on strike. In October, thousands of workers participated in a five-day strike across California and Hawaii to demand safer staffing and fair compensation.
Kaiser’s strike comes amid the largest nursing strike in New York City history with nearly 15,000 nurses walking off the job at five hospitals across the city.
The strike, which began two weeks ago, has shown some signs of progress with the New York State Nurses Association — the union representing the workers — saying at least two hospitals have agreed on maintaining health benefits for nurses.
However, nurses have indicated that the strike will continue until at least tentative contract agreements are reached.
(WASHINGTON) — Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will take over as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a White House official and sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Bhattacharya will continue in his current duties as NIH director until a permanent CDC director is nominated and confirmed, according to the White House official.
He replaces Jim O’Neill, who served as acting director of the CDC from late August 2025 until he stepped down last week.
O’Neill will be nominated as the next head of the National Science Foundation, according to the White House official.
