Updated guidance if you are sick with flu, COVID-19, or RSV
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated recommendations about dealing with respiratory illnesses (flu, COVID-19, and RSV) so that it’s the same guidance for all of them:
- Stay home and away from others when you are sick.
- If you are at higher risk for severe illness and have symptoms of COVID-19 or flu, talk to your healthcare provider right away for testing and possible treatment. Treatment can lessen symptoms and lower the risk of severe illness if you get it within a few days of when you start to feel sick.
- Return to normal activities 24 hours after the following:
- your symptoms are getting better overall, and
- you have not had a fever (and are not using a fever-reducing medication like ibuprofen or aspirin).
Once you return to your normal activities, take additional precautions for the next five days to prevent possibly spreading illness to others. As much as possible:
- limit close contact with others
- make sure there is good airflow indoors
- wear well-fitting masks, like N-95s or KN95s, especially when you’re around people 65 and older and those with weakened immune systems
- wash hands frequently and cover coughs and sneezes
- get tested for respiratory viruses (flu, COVID-19, RSV)
More information from CDC: Respiratory Virus Guidance (cdc.gov).
CDC recommends additional dose for older adults
The CDC recommends that everyone aged 65 and older get an additional dose of this season’s COVID-19 vaccine. The two doses should be separated by at least 4 months. The additional dose will provide increased protection since people in this age group are at risk for serious illness.
Kent COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic open until the end of March
Public Health’s Kent COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic will close after Saturday, 3/30/24 due to a decrease in federal funding. Snoqualmie Valley Hospital will also close its COVID-19 drive-through vaccination site on March 30. Now is a good time to get up to date on COVID-19 vaccination while these sites are open!
More information about getting vaccinated at the Kent site:
Kent COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic open until the end of March – PUBLIC HEALTH INSIDER
La clínica de vacunación Kent COVID-19 estará abierta hasta finales de marzo – PUBLIC HEALTH INSIDER