According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hospitalization rates are at the highest in nearly a decade, and the flu season is still getting worse.

Flu cases this year are at record levels as patients pack emergency rooms across the country and on Long Island. 

The staff at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip is on high flu alert after seeing a 25 percent increase in cases over last year. Kathy DiBenedetto, who works in the emergency department, says they have seen 30 positive flu cases in the past 24 hours. Six of them required hospitalization. 

The CDC is advising the elderly to be aware of a pneumonia which can easily occur along with the flu. 

"We recommend people 65 years of age and older get vaccinated against the common pneumonia caused by pneumococcus," said Anne Schuchat, of the CDC. 

Health officials say the best way to prevent the flu is with the flu vaccine, even if it's not as effective this year as in past years.