The baddies of respiratory viral season are on your doorstep: The United States is currently in the midst of a major spike in Covid-19 cases, and flu and RSV season are just months away.
More than 200 viruses cause the coughs and sneezes that make many of us miserable every fall and winter. “Respiratory infections are actually inevitable,” says Shira DoronAn infectious disease doctor and hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.
The good news is that there are now a variety of strategies available to combat them, although after years of battling the ever-changing epidemic, many people are understandably exhausted and confused about how to keep themselves and others safe. The bottom line is that you can minimize the impact of respiratory viruses on your life by reducing your exposure to respiratory viruses, priming your immune system to fight them, getting vaccinated, and making a plan to get tested and treated for the infection if you have one. who will benefit.
Here’s how to think about this year’s cold, flu and ongoing Covid-19 season, how to keep yourself healthy and safe, and how to be strategic about tests, vaccines and medications.
Should I treat covid like the flu? Or like a common cold?
The more we get from OG Covid in 2020, the less likely the infections will turn into hospitalization, death or long-term disability. This does not mean that viruses do not carry risks. “Covid continues to be a more dangerous virus than the flu. [but] They’re becoming more similar,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Mandy Cohen said at a press briefing in late August.
Last season was caused by covid-19 More hospitalizations than flu and RSV combined. However, with each successive wave of Covid, a small ratio Affected individuals are hospitalized or die as a result. This suggests that the virus is less likely to cause serious illness, especially in low-risk individuals.
A Covid-19 infection still carries the risk of persistent symptoms – also called prolonged Covid – but that risk is significant decreased over timeDue in large part to the Covid-19 vaccine.
“We can’t attribute the features to Covid 2024 that we did to Covid 2020,” Doron said.
If anything, people should be more careful with other, non-Covid infections
Indeed, an important question when thinking about Covid risk remains, “Who are you?” said William Schaffneris an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. The elderly, immunocompromised, pregnant and vulnerable people should still be “definitely more concerned,” he says, because the consequences of infection are worse for them than for others.
How long should I stay away from others if I have Covid-19?
Although from this year there are no strict guidelines on how many days you should self-isolate if you have Covid-19, The CDC recommends Stay home and away from others if you have symptoms of shortness of breath, regardless of the cause. Whether or not you test positive for Covid, don’t return to normal activities until your symptoms have improved overall and you’ve been fever-free (without medication like Tylenol or ibuprofen) for at least 24 hours.
In conversations among infectious disease experts, Doron says, most advocate that workers with a Covid-19 infection should apply the same rules for returning to work as they do for flu or cold infections.
That doesn’t mean you should be flippant about your Covid risk, Doron says. If anything, people should be more careful with other, non-Covid infections. “You should stay away from high-risk or immunocompromised people no matter what virus you have,” she says, “because all viruses can be dangerous to high-risk people.”
Doron recommends wearing masks for people with any respiratory symptoms when in close contact with others, and for severely immunocompromised people in public (for example, people with low levels of infection-fighting cells after chemotherapy). During periods when there is a lot of Covid-19 circulating — like now — Schaffner recommends masking and avoiding large crowds for all high-risk people, including those 65 and older.
Should I get tested for Covid-19 if I’m sick?
Because the CDC and other experts say the methods to protect others should be the same for all respiratory infections, the main reason to get tested when you’re sick is to determine whether to take medications prescribed for a particular virus.
Tamiflu (brand name for oseltamivir) and other drugs can cause flu infection Less lethal For high-risk people (such as people of all ages with asthma, heart disease, diabetes, and other conditions). Paxlovid (brand name nirmatrelvir-ritonavir) may have similar effects in elderly and immunocompromised people with covid-19 infection.
While these drugs can be life-saving if people take them for the right infection, they won’t do much good for other viruses. If you are sick and you are among those who would benefit from treatment with one of these drugs, it is wise to get tested.
The US government will mail again Free covid-19 test For Americans who request them by the end of September, you can get a flu test at many pharmacies, urgent care centers, or health care providers’ offices.
What’s the deal with all these different vaccines?
Before the pandemic, the only seasonal vaccine most people needed to worry about was a flu shot each fall. Now, a Covid-19 booster vaccine is becoming available around the same time. Additionally, shots to protect children and older adults from the pneumonia-causing RSV virus — which had been in development for years before the pandemic — finally became available to the public last fall. The toolkit is bigger now than it was a few years ago. This is a good thing, but it can feel confusing.
US recommendations aim to keep things simple for most people: CDC by recommending Everyone over 6 months old gets a Covid-19 booster and a flu shot this fall (more on how to get your shots below).
When it comes to RSV, three categories of people should get the vaccine: older people, pregnant people, and children. For now, it’s a one-and-done shot — those who get it don’t need to worry about annual boosters. If you are 75 or older, 60 or older underlying illnessIf you are pregnant, or have a newborn baby, talk to a healthcare provider about getting an RSV vaccine.
How should I schedule my flu and covid vaccines to best protect myself?
It’s perfectly fine to get the flu shot and the Covid-19 vaccine at the same time, and you can even get them a few inches apart on the same arm. Any time before the New Year is good protection, although you can be strategic with the timing if you need to.
Experts have landed on Halloween as the best time to get vaccinated, both to avoid the worst of the winter flu season and to avoid whatever Covid happens later in the winter.
The main benefit of the Covid-19 vaccine is protection from serious infection and hospitalization, not protection from infection altogether. However, there is a short-lived period after vaccination when antibody levels are so high that even infection is less likely. If you have an important life event planned – say, a big overseas trip or a wedding – it’s not unreasonable to try to time your vaccine about a month before that event so you’re less likely to get sick at the big time. moment, said Dorn.
Experts have landed on Halloween as the best vaccination time to avoid the worst of the winter flu season and whatever Covid may bounce back in late winter.
If you’re at risk of severe Covid-19 infection, get a Covid booster as soon as possible, says Schaffner. His reasoning: There’s a lot of Covid hype going on right now and in any case, those who need extra protection can get it an extra dose Updated vaccine midwinter.
If you are someone who would benefit from this RSV vaccineThe best time to get it is in late summer or early fall, before the virus starts spreading. Vaccination should be between September and January especially for pregnant people.
Seriously, do I really need to get another covid vaccine?
“You’re sold,” Schaffner said, echoing the CDC’s broad recommendations. Experts have determined that in the United States, the benefits of getting the vaccine outweigh the risks for all age groups.
That said, it is more important for some than others. “The more at-risk you are, the more you’ll benefit from an updated vaccine,” Doron said. This includes the elderly (65 and older) and those who are severely immunocompromised, such as those actively receiving chemotherapy.
All three Covid-19 vaccines offered this fall are safe and effective in preventing hospitalizations. Novax Hall Side effects are less likely than Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines; in him Latest newsletterEpidemiologist Caitlin Zetellina notes that this is a big reason she will wait to get a Novavax booster.
Despite the vaccine’s safety record, a recent study by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center suggests False covid beliefs are on the riseOne in five Americans believe that getting infected with Covid is safer than getting vaccinated. “On the one hand the level of messaging has not changed. On the other hand, it changed to, “Director Kathleen Hall Jamieson Told me “there’s less pro-vaccination messaging than you hear on a regular basis, and you still get the same amount of anti-vaccination messaging out there.”
Do I need to get the Covid-19 vaccine if I have recently had Covid?
Waste water measurement Suggesting that we are in the midst of a major Covid-19 uptick nationwide, infections are likely to be on the rise in the Midwest and Northeast. That means many Americans have recently contracted the virus.
there is Not much advantage Receiving the covid-19 vaccine within three months of covid-19 infection. Holding out longer gives you more of a push for your vaccine and allows the immunity produced by the Covid-19 infection to mature and strengthen, Doron says. Studies of vaccine timing have borne this out: in one study, for example, antibody levels (which protect against infection) were 11 times more Among people vaccinated eight months after infection compared to those who waited only three months.
On the other hand, the longer you wait to get vaccinated after contracting Covid-19, the more likely you are to get infected in the interim. (However, most people are not reinfected in the first nine to 12 months after infection, Doron says.)
What else can I do to stay healthy this season?
If you are not sick, several common strategies can help you stay healthy: wash your hands before touching your face or preparing food and after touching shared surfaces or using the bathroom; Use a mask in crowded places; Ventilate shared spaces by opening a window and turning on a fan if possible, and consider using an air purifier when gathering with others.
“During the height of Covid, we forgot about sleep, exercise, nutrition, stress reduction, how important all these things are to strengthen the immune system,” Doron said. Optimizing these factors—as well as maintaining a healthy weight and controlling underlying medical conditions—makes it more likely that you’ll stay healthy if you have a respiratory infection.
