BOSTON (WHDH) - With holiday gatherings in full swing and Christmas in just a few days, nasty viruses and colds are making the rounds.
As some people are starting to worry, 7NEWS spoke with local doctors to get their advice.
“It’s good that everybody is starting to think about it,” Beth Israel Lahey Health Chief Infection Prevention Officer Dr. Sharon Wright.
RSV, a new COVID-19 variant and the flu are all health issues doctors remain concerned about.
People like the elderly, the very young and those with respiratory and other health challenges, as a result, should be careful.
More patients are presenting with symptoms at Mass. General Hospital. MGH Division of Infectious Diseases Chief Dr. Ruanne Barnabas, though, said “It’s quite small.”
“Just about two percent for each of those and one percent for RSV,” she said.
While most everyone got their vaccinations in Massachusetts during the pandemic, the government recently said fewer people are choosing to get protected, now.
“Low vaccination rates, coupled with ongoing increases in national and international respiratory disease activity,” the CDC recently warned, “could lead to more severe disease and increased healthcare capacity strain in the coming weeks.”
Vaccinations are key. But they take a couple of weeks to take effect.
“It would be hard to get vaccinated now and hope that it would be effective by the Monday holiday,” Wright said.
So, how do people protect themselves and others at holiday gatherings?
Doctors advise frequent handwashing and wearing a mask, especially for those at risk for serious illness. Doctors say people should also open windows and increase ventilation, where possible, and stay home if sick.
Even though they may not take effect in time for the holidays, doctors still insist the most important thing is to get vaccinated.
“We do want to limit the risk of severe disease,” Barnabas said. “And we do want to limit the duration for which people have infection.”
To date, the CDC says only about one third of nursing home residents have up-to-date COVID vaccinations. Only 10% of residents have received a shot to protect them from RSV.
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