Our View: Fighting illness on two viral fronts
Stop us if you’ve heard this before: You should be vaccinated because (you fill in the blank).
Stop us if you’ve heard this before: You should be vaccinated because _______.
This year, health officials are sounding the signal on two fronts. One is flu, the other is COVID.
A third area of concern is the intersection of fronts one and two.
Area health officials are forecasting a potential uptick in the flu this year, following two years of lower-than-normal transmission. According to Amanda Archer, public health information and innovation director of Canton City Public Health, interviewed for a recent Review story, trends in Australia, which recently ended its flu season, indicate North American residents could be in for a challenging time.
COVID precautions kept people apart and made the flu less transmissible over the last two years. That’s not the case this year, meaning flu rates could increase.
COVID, which also thrives from togetherness, also might see an uptick over the winter months, when more people gather indoors.
For both respiratory viruses, mitigation precautions are the same. Wash hands frequently, stay away from infected people, stay home when sick, and take extra precautions if you are at high risk from complications.
Oh, and get vaccinated.
This means the annual flu shot, designed to protect against strains epidemiologists believe will be most prevalent this year. For COVID, it means the initial vaccines for people who have never had them, and the appropriate booster for those who have already had the first doses.
It’s not a scare tactic. It’s just best-practice in a season that could be tough.
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Our View: Fighting illness on two viral fronts
