As the holiday season wraps up, many people risk giving — or receiving — the unwanted gift of respiratory illness.
According to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Dec. 22, Pennsylvania’s level of respiratory illness was listed as “moderate.”
That’s expected to change in coming weeks, said Luann Brink, chief epidemiologist at the Allegheny County Health Department. Brink pointed to internal data from local emergency departments that show over the past month, there’s been about a 50% increase of patients with flu and COVID-19.
“You can mitigate that by coughing and sneezing into your elbow, masking and washing your hands,” said Brink.
UPMC’s medical director of infection prevention Dr. Graham Snyder said so many people get sick this time of year because we’re having more indoor social interactions that stretch beyond our usual day-to-day network. This break in routine leads us to encounter new viruses.
“It doesn’t mean don’t celebrate, don’t travel,” said Snyder. “It does mean if you’re not feeling well to be conscientious about that.”
Stay home if you’re feeling ill and if you have symptoms, even mild ones, wear a mask in public, said Graham. A scratchy throat for one person could be deadly to someone with a weakened immune system.
“We don't want to act like a 21-year-old on spring break this Christmas, okay?” said Dr. Brian Lamb, an internal medicine doctor with Allegheny Health Network.
Lamb described this holiday season as the first since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that feels like a return to normal. The vaccine has made the virus less of a threat for many people, and hospital systems are not at risk of being overrun with patients.
Still, thousands die of influenza every year, and nationwide a couple thousand people in the U.S. die of COVID-19 every week.
“The last thing you want to do is be the guest that everyone knows brought COVID or flu to the party,” said Lamb. “You don't want that to be your legacy for this holiday season.”
