![]() ![]() Also, washing hands frequently will help limit the spread. With any virus, stay home and away from other people to avoid spreading illness. These viruses spread easily through a cough or sneeze. I wear a mask in patients’ rooms.ĮH: What should you do if you start to get symptoms of sickness, such as sniffles and a cough or scratchy throat?ĭW: If you’ve got any respiratory symptoms, I recommend testing yourself for COVID.Īlso, you want to isolate yourself: You are usually most contagious within the first four or five days after onset of symptoms. People working closely with other people may want to mask, too. It’s basically good citizenship to do that. If I’m going for more than just a few minutes in a crowded indoor environment, I will mask - not just for my own protection but because I don’t want to infect others if I get flu, RSV, or COVID-19 and am asymptomatic and shed the virus. I’m still a bit careful about going into real crowded bars or restaurants - most of the time when I’m out to dinner I’m sitting outside and putting on a sweater. It’s probably safe to get all three at the same time, but because RSV may not peak until later in the fall I plan to spread it out.ĮH: Are there additional things you advise people to do to protect themselves?ĭW: During this virus season, people may also want to take those extra measures, such as masking or avoiding crowded spaces. I plan on personally getting the flu shot and the omicron COVID-19 booster at the same time and then will maybe wait a couple of weeks and get the RSV vaccine. We don’t even have it yet at our employee health center, so I probably have to go to CVS or one of the other local pharmacies for my shot.ĮH: Should people be concerned about getting all these vaccines?ĭW: The vaccines have been thoroughly tested for safety and effectiveness. ![]() Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved these vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna in mid-September. I know the omicron booster may still be a little hard to get now since the U.S. So older people and other vulnerable groups may especially need to do more to protect themselves.ĮH: What are the best actions people can take to avoid getting sick?ĭW: It’s very important that folks receive not only the flu vaccine and the new omicron booster, but also the new RSV vaccine if they qualify. I’m 70 now myself, and we certainly know that our cellular immunity is not nearly as strong when we’re older. Older people, people with underlying health conditions, and pregnant women are at higher risk of developing severe disease due to COVID-19, influenza, and other respiratory diseases. What does that suggest to you?ĭW: I suspect these deaths are among the more vulnerable. That’s when they tend to generally increase, so my sense is that we’re gonna see a lot higher numbers later in the year.ĮH: CDC figures showed that deaths related to COVID-19 rose 8 percent for the week ending September 23. Influenza and RSV are typically more late fall, winter, and early spring diseases. That said, a high proportion of the population has at least some degree of immunity, so we’re not seeing the high numbers of hospitalizations that we did in 2020 and through 2021. So I tend to think there’s a little more COVID out there than the numbers may reflect. Winslow answers questions about the season ahead and reveals a few of his own personal tactics for staying healthy.Įveryday Health: What is your prediction regarding COVID, flu, and RSV as we move deeper into fall?ĭean Winslow, MD: Overall, I think we’re going to see a lot of cases in the weeks ahead.Īlthough some COVID numbers have dipped slightly recently, anecdotally we’re hearing of people testing positive, and we’re not getting the full picture because most people are self-diagnosing using rapid antigen tests and are not reporting results to any public health department. But that doesn’t mean you’re destined to get sick, too.įor answers about how to stave off respiratory illnesses during the coming days and weeks, Everyday Health spoke with Dean Winslow, MD, an infectious-disease specialist and a professor of medicine at Stanford University in California. As the respiratory virus season hits its stride this fall, you may see more and more people around you falling victim to a cold or COVID-19 or maybe even RSV or the flu.
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