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Health experts highlight risk of COVID, flu, RSV, as holiday gatherings get set to begin

Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Kevin Gutting
/
Daily Hampshire Gazette / gazettenet.com
Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Massachusetts.

An infectious disease expert at a western Massachusetts hospital is urging caution ahead of holiday gatherings.

COVID-19 is still out there, although case rates statewide are much lower than this time last year. The flu is on the rise. And, instances of the respiratory disease know as RSV, have spiked this fall, especially in children. All this comes as families get ready to gather to celebrate the upcoming holidays.

Joanne Levin is the medical director of infection prevention at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton. She said people feeling under the weather should protect their loved ones.

"We know COVID can have relatively mild symptoms in may people, so if you have a new runny nose, new sore throat, new cough, fever, stay home," Levin said. "It's a bummer but stay home."

Levin said even if you are feeling better, people can remain contagious for several days after getting sick.

"(A) disease like the flu is contagious for up to a week," Levin said. "RSV is also contagious for anywhere between three days and eight days. And COVID, on average, people are usually infectious at least eight days, and sometimes longer."

Levin added some precautions can be taken to protect guests, including using an air filtration device, cracking a window to help with air flow, and masking, although that’s difficult to do when food is involved.

In terms of COVID-19, Levin said spikes took place right after the holidays over the last few years, after people gathered for the holidays. She expects something similar to take place again this winter. And, while it may be too late for Thanksgiving, she said COVID-19 and flu vaccines can help protect against illness ahead of the December holidays.

Full disclosure: Cooley Dickinson Hospital is an underwriter of New England Public Media, however that does not influence our news coverage.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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