What can we do to protect ourselves from respiratory infections? Elizabeth Tracey reports

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Respiratory infections like seasonal influenza and Covid can be devastating. Johns Hopkins critical care physician and pandemic preparedness expert Amesh Adalja says the good news is there are vaccines for both, and protection starts but doesn’t end there.

Adalja: You have to think about your protection against respiratory infections as part of a multi layered approach. There are some low tech interventions, non pharmaceutical interventions you can use them to decrease your risk of acquiring a respiratory virus or passing along a respiratory virus. Quality masks that are available to anybody that wants some, N 95 or 95 equivalents, when they're in crowded congregated areas especially if they're in a high risk group. There has been a major push to increase ventilation in buildings. Even just opening a window increases the amount of air exchange that makes transmission less likely when you have people congregating.    :32

Avoiding contact with viruses is always most effective, Adalja says. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.