By James (Jay) Miller, MD MPH (Tacoma-Pierce County Health Officer).
This time of the year, you’ll find many of our staff working on the same thing: respiratory illness season.
Nurses, disease-prevention experts, data folks, even our communication team make it a focus for the next several months.
We know respiratory viruses like flu, COVID-19, and RSV will send many Washington residents to the hospital in the coming months. Some will end up in intensive care. Some will die.
As your health department, our goal is to work with the community to reduce the impact of respiratory viruses. We focus on time-tested strategies to combat respiratory viruses, even as we look for new tools and strategies.
The good news is that we have better vaccine options than ever before to help keep ourselves and our community safe. Everyone 6 months and older should get updated flu and COVID vaccines. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends RSV vaccines and antibodies for infants, pregnant people, and older people.
This year, we’re also excited to share an expanded data dashboard that will keep you informed about respiratory virus levels and trends.
Flu, COVID-19, and RSV
Influenza, often called flu, is a respiratory virus that infects the nose, throat, and sometimes lungs. Most years, it unfortunately kills over a hundred people in our state and sends thousands more to the hospital.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) usually feels like a mild cold. Most people recover in a week or 2—but it can sometimes be very serious, especially for babies and older adults.
COVID-19 is a particularly contagious respiratory virus. Most people with COVID-19 have mild symptoms, but for others it’s much more serious.
There are many other respiratory viruses, but we focus most on these 3 because they have the biggest health impacts on our community. While these diseases are different in certain ways, we can use similar prevention strategies for all 3, and for other respiratory viruses too.
Common symptoms from respiratory viruses include:
- Cough.
- Fever.
- Sore throat.
- Body aches.
For all 3 diseases, certain groups are at higher risk of getting very sick, including:
- Young children, especially infants.
- Older people.
- Pregnant people.
- People living with a health condition like asthma, diabetes, heart disease, or a weakened immune system.
Protect yourself, your family, and your community
Thankfully, we have effective vaccines for all 3!
The flu and COVID vaccines are updated each year to provide the best protection against the current strains of viruses.
For RSV, there are a few different options for different groups:
- For infants and some toddlers, we recommend an antibody treatment called nirsevimab. This treatment is similar to a vaccine, but it contains fully ready antibodies instead of relying on the body to create antibodies after a vaccine.
- For people who are pregnant during RSV season, getting an RSV vaccine helps protect the baby later.
- For older people, RSV vaccines help protect against getting very sick from RSV. We recommend RSV vaccines for people over 75, as well as people 60-74 with certain health conditions.
While we are mostly focused on respiratory viruses, this is also a great time to get a pneumonia vaccine. Pneumonia vaccines are part of the routine childhood vaccine schedule. Additionally, we recommend pneumonia vaccines for older people and people with chronic health conditions. And we now have improved pneumonia vaccines that protect against even more strains of bacteria.
Ask your healthcare provider about vaccines or use the vaccine locator to find them at pharmacies near you.
We also have effective treatments for flu and COVID. If you are at higher risk of getting very sick, contact your primary care clinician if you develop symptoms of a respiratory virus. They might recommend testing and/or treatment to decrease your risk.
Finally, there are several other common-sense ways to protect yourself, your family, and your community.
While older and younger people are at higher risk for severe illness, all 3 diseases can make anyone sick. That can mean you or your children missing work and school.
As disease spread rises, so too could emergency room and hospital visits. This makes it hard for folks with other conditions to get the care they need.
The good news is, we know what works best to protect against respiratory viruses.
- If you’re sick, stay home. If you need to go somewhere when you’re sick, wear a mask so that you don’t get other people sick.
- COVID is particularly contagious. You can use at-home tests to help figure out if you have COVID.
- Wash your hands often, with soap and warm water. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers also work well against respiratory viruses.
- Consider wearing a mask when you’re in a crowded indoor space – especially if you are at higher risk of getting very sick. You can also wear a mask when you’re around people who are at higher risk to help protect them.
We’re here for you.
We’ll keep you updated as respiratory illness season moves along.
Our new data dashboard is a great way to stay informed. We’ll track data on disease spread and emergency room and hospital visits to help you decide what precautions to take.
You can also turn to us for info on vaccines. Our adult immunizations and children’s immunizations pages are a great place to start.
And, of course, follow us on social media and subscribe to the Your Reliable Source blog for the latest updates on respiratory viruses and other important public health topics!
