What you need to know
- Breathing cold air reduces our noses’ ability to fight off viruses. Wearing a mask over your nose and mouth can keep your nose warm, protecting your virus-fighting cells.
- Using humidifiers indoors during colder months and improving indoor ventilation can reduce the spread of respiratory viruses in your home.
- Getting this season’s updated COVID-19 vaccine, flu shot, and RSV vaccine (if you’re eligible) reduces your risk of hospitalization and death. Visit Vaccines.gov to find an appointment near you.
As temperatures drop, cases of respiratory viruses rise. Breathing cold, dry air decreases your nose’s ability to fight off germs, and spending more time indoors increases the spread of COVID-19, the flu, and RSV during respiratory virus season.
Masking, getting vaccinated, improving indoor air quality, and washing your hands are all safe and effective ways to protect yourself this winter.
Read on to find out more about how you can stay healthy during respiratory virus season: How to bolster your immune system, how you can reduce the spread of viruses at indoor gatherings, and more.
How can I bolster my immune system this winter?
Staying up to date on vaccinations is a safe and effective way to improve our immune response to viruses. The CDC recommends the updated COVID-19 vaccine and this season’s flu vaccine for everyone 6 months and older. The CDC also recommends the RSV vaccine for people who are 32 to 36 weeks pregnant and people 60 and older. Visit Vaccines.gov to schedule your updated COVID-19 vaccine, flu shot, and RSV vaccine (if you’re eligible) as soon as possible.
In addition to protecting you from inhaling viral particles, wearing a mask over your nose and mouth may also improve your immune response. Keeping your nose warm protects the virus-fighting cells in your nostrils from dying off in cold temperatures. Learn more about masks from the CDC.
How can I reduce the spread of respiratory viruses at indoor gatherings?
Masking at indoor gatherings and encouraging guests to wear masks in public settings prior to an indoor gathering can reduce the spread of respiratory viruses.
Improving indoor ventilation by opening doors and windows, using high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, and building your own Corsi-Rosenthal box can also reduce viral spread. Humidifiers may also protect you and your guests against germs since viruses don’t spread as easily through moist air.
Encouraging regular hand-washing and sanitizing of shared surfaces can prevent you and your guests from spreading germs through touch.
What should I do if I have respiratory virus symptoms?
If you develop a cough, runny nose, or fever, see a health care provider who can test you for COVID-19, the flu, and RSV and prescribe the appropriate treatment. Remember that, even if you take a COVID-19 rapid test at home and get a negative result, you may still have COVID-19 and be contagious.
Wash your hands frequently and wear a well-fitting N95 or KN95 mask around others, especially babies, older adults, and immunocompromised people, who may be more vulnerable to infection. Avoid traveling while you’re sick to avoid spreading the virus.
For more information, talk to your health care provider.
This article is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award to the CDC Foundation totaling $69,392,486 with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government. In addition, the CDC Foundation does not guarantee and is not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of information or content contained in this article. Moreover, the CDC Foundation expressly disclaims all liability for damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to, or reliance on any information contained within this article. This article are not intended as, and should not be interpreted by you as, constituting or implying the CDC Foundation’s endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation of the information, products, or services found therein.