Healthy New Year!

Author

Jakub Tolar, MD, PhD, Campus Public Health Officer

December 13, 2022

Is COVID-19 over? COVID-19 continues; however, there are a few new twists:

COVID-19 rates are going up. Be aware of the infection levels where you are traveling.
We are in the middle of the worst flu epidemic in three years.
Children are presenting in the emergency room with RSV and COVID-19 at the same time. Last week the CDC expanded the use of the updated (bivalent) boosters to children 6 months to 5 years.
New variants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 (about 68% of infections in U.S.) are more contagious and evade the protection of both natural and vaccine-created immunity more effectively.
Immunity wanes over time. That means that people who were vaccinated early—because they are more vulnerable to the virus—or had COVID-19 earlier, may have less protection now.

Keep up-to-date on vaccination and boosters for COVID-19 and the flu.
Wear a well-fitted, effective mask, ideally with an N-95 level of protection, when you are indoors in a group or crowd.
Improve indoor air quality with ventilation and/or filtering, especially when groups are in small spaces, like homes.
Wash hands frequently and thoroughly.
Follow the right steps if you become sick.

Please protect yourself and others, and we hope to see you back on campus and healthy in 2023.

Welcome or not, many of the illnesses we see in fall and winter are respiratory viruses.

Please take a moment to think about what you can do to prepare to protect yourself and the people around you.

Resources that will allow you to assess the current situation and make choices about your personal safety.