By Dr. Kimberly Shriner
Special to San Marino Tribune
The holidays are here — a treasured time to connect with family and celebrate together.
Although most of us are now very familiar with ways to keep ourselves, our families and friends healthy for the holidays, it’s always good to review habits, risks and resources. COVID-19 and other respiratory viral infections are on the rise this year, perhaps earlier and more significantly than this time last year. This may be due to the new variants that continue to emerge with COVID; often more infectious, with a longer “tail” of persistently positive tests that would suggest ongoing viral production and infectivity.
In addition, many of us have not yet been vaccinated against these new variants, so the “community immunity” may be lower than last year. Influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and other pathogens also take advantage of low vaccination rates, proliferate and make many children and adults quite ill. And, of course, this is occurring in the setting of the busy holiday season and perhaps a little less masking than we all did for so many months these last couple of years. So, let’s not make it too easy for these viruses that can still cause significant disease, hospitalization and even death in our vulnerable populations.
Vaccination for COVID, influenza and RSV absolutely protect individuals and the entire community from serious illness and hospitalization. They are widely available, very safe and usually without any cost.
The CDC is anticipating millions of people will get sick in the next month or two, and low vaccination rates means more people will get more severe disease. Getting vaccinated now can help prevent hospitalizations and save lives.
What should you do if you, or someone you love, gets COVID-19?
The CDC and experts agree, antivirals are an important tool for treating people with COVID-19, yet often are underused. COVID-19 antivirals help reduce hospitalizations and deaths among people at higher risk, especially people 65 years and older and those with certain underlying conditions. COVID-19 antivirals need to be prescribed more often to people who are at risk for severe illness to reduce hospitalizations and save lives.
If you test positive for COVID-19, are not immunocompromised or over 65 years old and are not experiencing severe symptoms, please remember to stay home, get rest and limit exposure to friends and family members so the virus doesn’t spread. Containing these viruses is the first step to protecting your community.
How should you celebrate to protect yourself from viruses this holiday season?
• Outdoors is safer than indoors.
• Wear a mask if you are going out in public, crowded places.
• If you are sick or have symptoms, don’t host or attend a gathering.
• Get tested if you have symptoms of COVID-19 or have a close contact with someone who has COVID-19. Home tests are widely available and a reasonably accurate measure of infectiousness.
• Contact your physician if you think you may need antiviral therapy for COVID or influenza or antibiotics for a bacterial infection.
I do believe that we all have the necessary experience and information to better protect ourselves and our loved ones from seasonal infectious diseases. We never want to go back to the darkest days of suffering during the beginning of the COVID pandemic. As we move forward together, let’s celebrate safely with good health, wellness, love and peace.
Dr. Kimberly Shriner is the medical director of infection prevention and control at Huntington Health, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai.
First published in the Dec. 28 issue of the San Marino Tribune
