Tis the Season for Flu, RSV, and COVID
Courtney Carter
/ Categories: WELLNESS, 2024

Tis the Season for Flu, RSV, and COVID

Vaccination Season is Here

While seasonal flu, COVID, and respiratory infection levels are currently low to moderate nationwide, medical experts expect them to increase in the coming weeks, thanks to holiday gatherings, travel, and simply spending more time indoors.

This is why NOW is the time to get vaccinated. 

According to the CDC, respiratory viruses are responsible for millions of illnesses and thousands of hospitalizations and deaths in the United States every year. In addition to the virus that causes COVID-19, there are many other types of respiratory viruses, including flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The good news is that you can protect yourself and others from health risks caused by respiratory viruses by getting vaccinated.

Vaccines are currently available at many pharmacies and through your healthcare provider’s office. A simple shot provides the necessary antibodies to fight off infection or make it less severe.

 

Here’s a look at the current Fall and Winter Immunization recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

COVID-19 and Flu Vaccines

  • ​Everyone 6 months and older

RSV Immunization to Protect Babies

  • Vaccine | Pregnant parents during weeks 32-36 of pregnancy during RSV season

  • Monoclonal Antibodies | Babies entering or born during RSV season

RSV Vaccine for Older Adults 

  • People ages 60 and over at high risk of severe RSV

  • Everyone ages 75 and older

  • Currently, older adults only need to get the RSV vaccine once; not annually

 

A Word About Bird Flu

Over the past eight months, 58 cases of H5N1 bird flu, a type of avian influenza, have been confirmed in the U.S. While H5N1 is considered a dangerous pathogen, with a case fatality rate of around 50%, none of the infected Americans has required hospitalization. The majority of those infected work in close contact with dairy cattle and poultry flocks with infection likely occurring by the virus entering a person's eyes, nose, or mouth, or being inhaled.

Even though the virus can be passed from mammal to mammal, there currently is no evidence of human-to-human contamination. However, recent research from the National Institutes of Health found the H5N1 bird flu virus could be just one mutation away from being able to spread amongst humans.

While there’s no need to panic, it is important to stay current on any news and alerts related to bird flu. For the latest information and recommendations regarding bird flu from the CDC, click here.

In addition, the CDC recommends the following to avoid infection:

  • Avoid consuming or coming into contact with unpasteurized dairy products.

  • Wash your hands with soap and water after handling wild birds, poultry, and livestock. 

  • Get tested if you develop flu-like symptoms.

  • Stay home when sick, especially with fever and cough.

  • Get your seasonal flu vaccine.

 

Dr. Marie George, MD is an Infectious Disease Specialist at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington, VT, and a member of the Travel Clinic team at the hospital.

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Cautious Entertaining

After almost 3 months of staying home and with the weather getting nicer, many of us are itching to invite friends over and catch up. While this is a natural inclination, it should be approached with significant caution. COVID-19 is still circulating. If you are planning to host, follow these helpful tips for a safe gathering at your home.

Keep the numbers small. Invite as few people as possible. One-on-one meetings are safer than group gatherings. The recommendations from Vermont Governor Phil Scott recommend 25 or fewer. I would still aim for fewer than 10, especially depending on the size of your entertaining space.

Choose invitees carefully. You should know almost everything about the socializing habits of the people you are inviting. Your guests should be as careful in their social interactions as you are in yours. You should also trust that your guests would be cancel if they were feeling ill, as should you if you are suddenly symptomatic. Those at high risk, due to age or a medical condition, should be very careful about hosting or accepting invitations.

Stay outside. Outdoor air movement disperses aerosolized particles more readily than indoor environments. And plenty of space outside allows guests to stay distanced. UV light, like the rays found in sunshine, may also provide some small benefit. It has been shown to decrease the viability of the virus on objects, but it is not yet clear how intense the light must be and for how long the object needs to be exposed in order to kill the virus.

Keep it short. Duration of exposure to others has been identified as a key risk factor. The longer you are near someone shedding the virus, even if they don't have symptoms, the greater your likelihood of catching it yourself. While it is awkward to say that you are inviting people over for a 10-minute chat in the driveway, this is certainly among the lowest-risk types of socializing.

Clean beforehand. If you expect guests to touch anything, the arms of patio chairs, for instance, wipe them down in advance. Ask everyone to sanitize or wash their hands as they arrive, if they touch their face, and about every hour or so.

Stay distanced and masked. People standing tend to drift. Place chairs 6 feet apart so that people will be more likely to stay apart. Unless you are eating, keep your masks on. Share this expectation in advance, so your guests bring their masks with them.

Limit contact points. If you are preparing food, be sure to wash well before cooking and ensure everyone has a portion of his or her own. Forget about platters of vegetables or bowls of chips everyone shares and even buffets, where people share spoons and tongs.

Clean after. Wipe down anything your guests may have touched after they leave.

Keep track. Be sure to take note of who was there, the date of the social event, and each guest's contact details. If any one of the attendees becomes ill with COVID-19 or learns that they may have been exposed at the time of the event, they will be able to reach out directly to the others and to share information readily with contact tracers.

With these tips, you can host a relatively safe get-together and relieve some of the social isolation of the past several weeks. Do know, however, that no party—regardless of how careful—is risk free. Weigh the risks, decrease those you can, and then, try to have fun.

Donna Barron, RN, is the infection preventionist at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.

 

 

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