Today, CDC released updated recommendations for how people can protect themselves and their communities from respiratory viruses. The new guidance brings a unified approach to addressing risks from a range of common respiratory viral illnesses, such as COVID-19, flu, and RSV.
As part of the guidance, CDC provides active recommendations on core prevention steps and strategies:
- Staying up to date with vaccination to protect people against serious illness, hospitalization, and death. This includes flu, COVID-19, and RSV if eligible.
- Practicing good hygiene by covering coughs and sneezes, washing or sanitizing hands often, and cleaning frequently touched surfaces.
- Taking steps for cleaner air, such as bringing in more fresh outside air, purifying indoor air, or gathering outdoors.
The updated guidance recommends that when people get sick with a respiratory virus, they stay home and away from others. It suggests returning to normal activities when symptoms are improving overall, and if a fever was present, it has been gone for 24 hours without use of a fever-reducing medication.
Once people resume normal activities, they are encouraged to select from among additional precautions for the next 5 days to curb disease spread, such as limiting close contact with others, improving ventilation and masking. Enhanced precautions are especially important to protect those most at risk for severe illness, including those over 65 and people with weakened immune systems.
The guidance also outlines additional prevention steps and strategies you can select to further lower risk, including:
- Wearing a mask and/or putting physical distance between yourself and others to help lower the risk of respiratory virus transmission.
- Testing to inform your actions around seeking treatment and preventing spread to others.
The updated guidance also includes additional considerations for people who are at higher risk of severe illness from respiratory viruses, including people who are immunocompromised, people with disabilities, people who are or were recently pregnant, young children, and older adults.
Key resources can be found here:
- CDC’s Updated Respiratory Virus Guidance landing page: https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/guidance/respiratory-virus-guidance.html
- Background for CDC’s Updated Respiratory Virus Guidance https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/background/index.html
- CDC Press Release CDC updates and simplifies respiratory virus recommendations | CDC Online Newsroom | CDC
Respiratory viruses remain a public health threat. CDC will continue to focus efforts on ensuring the public has the information and tools to lower their risk or respiratory illness by protecting themselves, families, and communities.
