Encouraging flu vaccinations among hospital patients and staff cannot be overstated, according to Andrew Wallach, MD, ambulatory care chief at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and ambulatory care chief medical officer for the 11-hospital system.
Dr. Wallach joined Becker’s Jan. 16 for an upcoming episode of the Becker’s Healthcare Podcast to discuss flu season trends in New York and across the U.S.
In the week ending Dec. 20, 2025, New York reached a record-high 72,424 flu cases and 3,666 hospitalizations, according to New York State Department of Health data. Those figures are significantly higher than the state’s previous record-high week in the 2024-25 flu season, which saw 54,834 cases and 3,438 hospitalizations for the week ending Feb. 1, 2025.
“The hospitalizations [in late December] are the highest-ever recorded in our region dating back to 2004 when we started tracking this information,” Dr. Wallach said, adding that NYC Health + Hospitals’ EDs, outpatient practices and virtual ExpressCare began seeing an influx of flu patients starting around December.
The 2025-26 influenza season hit several New York hospitals earlier than normal. While flu seems to have peaked in that state, other U.S. regions are preparing for upcoming spikes in influenza cases and hospitalizations.
Dr. Wallach told Becker’s that hospital leaders who are bracing for an influx of flu patients should shift their strategy from “routine care” to “surge capacity management.” He outlined a “Four-S” framework for surge capacity:
1. Staffing — Developing internal float pools is effective during surges like the current flu season, he said. Another tip is intentionally rotating staff in and out of flu wards to give employees a break and keep the workforce healthy.
On the topic of supporting employee health, “making sure that staff and patients are vaccinated is just so critical,” he said. “This year earlier than ever, [we] really pushed with our staff the importance of getting vaccinated. … And although we know that the vaccine is not a perfect match this year to the circulating strains, we do know that it still offers protection, certainly in decreasing severity of disease and in hospitalization and death.”
2. Space — Taking a lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Wallach recommended repurposing or “flexing” nonclinical areas to manage patient flow and safety. He also suggested temporary structures, such as heated tents outside EDs, to adjust for more patients.
If there is low availability of isolation rooms, another idea is cohorting patients in respiratory pods or dedicated wards, which can also help streamline nursing staff.
3. Supplies — Hospitals should have a robust, diverse supply chain to ensure they do not have a shortage of personal protective equipment, such as N95 masks, he said.
4. Systems — From a systems perspective, Dr. Wallach recommends having policies in place to shorten the timeline from triage to treatment. For example, hospitals can have standing orders for nurses to administer flu tests and start hydration in patients with respiratory symptoms, so those patients are not waiting for a physician before receiving treatment.
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