January 24, 2018 – Protecting Yourself

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Anchor lead: What can you do right now to protect yourself from the flu? Elizabeth Tracey reports

The flu this year is especially severe, having caused many deaths in both children and adults. What can you do to help protect yourself? Andrew Pekosz, a flu expert at Johns Hopkins, outlines a plan.

Pekosz: It’s not too late to get the vaccine. It does take anywhere from two to four weeks for the vaccine to really kick into gear. Remember the vaccine protects against more than just H3N2, it protects against this H1N1 virus and flu B. so you can still give yourself protection against strains of flu that might be circulating towards the tail end of the season, if you get the vaccine now. If you’re feeling sick, and you have to go to work, use a tissue when you’re sneezing and coughing, wash your hands frequently, try to minimize your exposure to people. Because even when you have mild symptoms or sometimes no symptoms,  you can still transmit particularly flu but also other respiratory viruses.  :36

Pekosz notes there’s no substitute for washing your hands, and avoiding touching your hands to your nose and mouth. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.