What you should know about about influenza, COVID-19, RSV ahead of the holidays

As you prepare to push through crowds at busy airports or host large family gatherings, here’s what you should know about respiratory viruses, including COVID-19.

Is there a surge right now?

Thanks to several factors like colder weather and more congregation and travel, COVID, influenza and RSV have been trending upward in recent weeks, said Dr. Nicholas Turner, a Duke infectious disease expert.

Flu cases began to slightly uptick right before Thanksgiving, which Turner said is usually a “harbinger of further increases” later on. Now, he said, flu cases are sharply increasing.

COVID-19 numbers are still lower than this fall’s “surge-let.”

What variants are circulating?

There are a lot of different variants circulating right now. Turner said he likes to think of them as “siblings” of the original omicron variant.

What’s important to know is that they do not appear to cause more severe illness than the original omicron variant and people who have had past COVID infections or been vaccinated are still well protected.

What should you do ahead of the holidays?

The best way to protect yourself against these respiratory viruses is to make sure you’re up to date on vaccines.

This fall, health care providers began offering reformulated COVID boosters, which are designed to target the original COVID strain and XBB — an omicron subvariant that circulated this summer.

Even though XBB is not dominant in North Carolina, the vaccine still offers a boost in protection against the related variants spreading now.

This year’s flu shot also protects well against the currently circulating influenza strain.

If you’re planning to get vaccinated for the holidays, Turner said, do it now — your body needs about two weeks to build up full immunity after the shot.

Staying home from gatherings if you have symptoms — fever, muscle aches and pains, or a cough — can also protect friends and family members who have weakened immune systems from the viruses.

Teddy Rosenbluth covers science and health care for The News & Observer in a position funded by Duke Health and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work.