[ad_1]
The changing of the seasons usually ushers in predictable cold symptoms that many people have become accustomed to dealing with several times a year. But seasonal colds, colds and flu have a harder time spreading when people socially distance themselves, wear masks, and follow other pandemic protocols.
“It’s absolutely because of the precautions we’re taking,” said Dr. Leana S. Wen, CNN’s medical and emergency medical analyst. “The same precautions that protect us against the coronavirus also protect against the cold, flu and respiratory pathogens.
“It’s about keeping your distance, wearing a mask, washing your hands more, being on the lookout for someone to have the disease and not know it,” said Wen, a professor of public health at George Washington. College.
“In the past, it might have been acceptable to sneeze and cough a little and still go to work or school, and now that would not be acceptable,” he added. “That also reduces the risk of transmission.”
Wen pointed to Australia’s milder flu season during the winter months as further indication that “the same precautions used to protect against coronavirus also reduced flu cases.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, noted that Australia had the fewest flu cases “in memory” during its winter flu season, from April to September.
Fauci attributed the flu shot, wearing masks, avoiding crowds, staying physically distanced and washing hands frequently as actions that may have protected people in the southern hemisphere this winter.
“If you look at the many years of data on flu vaccines, they are not perfect,” Fauci said, speaking with Washington, DC radio station WTOP on September 17. “We know from the data that flu vaccines not only prevent infections; they prevent people who become infected from contracting a serious progressive disease that sometimes results in hospitalization.”
If you haven’t yet had a flu shot, now is the time, according to experts. The start of the flu season in the Northern Hemisphere is typically November, Wen said, and it’s best to get vaccinated before November.
Read more:
