BOISE, Idaho — With Christmas around the corner, people may want to spread holiday cheer, instead of sickness, this season.
Millions are expected to travel for Christmas over the coming weeks, experts warn to be prepared for the sniffles, sneezes and stuffed-up sinuses that could come with holiday travel.
There are three respiratory illnesses that tend to rise this time of year - COVID, the flu, and RSV - because of a number of factors, including more people staying indoors due to weather, and more people traveling during the holidays.
Dr. Patrice Burgess is the chief medical officer for Saint Alphonsus. The hospital is expecting a climb in COVID and the flu with the holidays.
"[We] probably haven't seen the most of our flu cases yet," he said. "RSV, we seem to have peaked and are starting to come down on the other side of that peak - so not as bad as last year. And then COVID just continues to evolve, different strains are developing."
New COVID strains, like JN. 1.
"It's becoming increasingly prevalent," Dr. Jason Bronner, primary and urgent care medical director for St. Luke's said. "In other places in the world it is becoming the most dominant strain - so probably expect to see something similar here in Idaho."
Dr. Bronner says this new evolution of Coronavirus may be a little more contagious than earlier strains, but it has less severe symptoms.
"The indication is that it may be a little more infectious, Dr. Bronner said. "The symptoms - I'm seeing this a lot in clinic - sore throat, congestion. Those are some of the typical ways that people are presenting when they come in with Coronavirus."
There are still concerns with those who are vulnerable - like the elderly, young children and the immunocompromised.
So, it is still crucial to protect yourself - and others - through practices that doctors recommend, including:
- Hand washing
- Staying home when sick
- Wearing a mask in crowded areas, such as airports
- Staying up-to-date on current vaccines
"Even though COVID might be a mild illness now for most healthy people, we still have vulnerable people in our population," Dr. Burgess said. "And we don't know when we're in the grocery store or at work when we're going to expose somebody that is at high risk...So we're really doing all of these precautions to protect ourselves, but also to protect those around us."
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