With the weather getting colder and Christmas less than a week away, New Yorkers are being reminded to stay safe and healthy.
Health officials on Tuesday advised New Yorkers to keep vaccinations up to date, wear masks, test regularly and stay home when sick.
The city is currently seeing an uptick in COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus cases.
“I think this is a product of the changing weather, a product of increased social mixing and congregation around the holidays, and it's a product of us getting back to some semblance of normalcy,” city Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said.
City health officials say they are watching trends closely and tracking cases, hospitalizations, deaths and capacity at hospitals.
They emphasized that increased precautions will benefit those most at-risk, like adults 65 and over, those who are immunocompromised and anyone with an underlying chronic health condition.
“We’re also zeroing in on those most at-risk of illness by calling those people 65 and older who test positive for [COVID-19] to get them immediate access to Paxlovid,” Vasan said.
The mayor also announced that children from the ages of 6 months old to 4 years old are now able to get an updated Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to protect against new variants.
“It’s clear. The direction is: get vaccinated, get boosted, stay safe and make sure you enjoy a safe holiday season,” Adams said.
Adams himself was wearing a mask at the announcement on Tuesday.