Breathe Easy: Navigating Respiratory Illness Season and Fall Vaccines

Oct 24 12:00pm | Kristin Eggebraaten | @keggebraaten

Even though the summer heat lingers for some of us, it’s officially fall once again. As the season changes, so do the health challenges we face. Fall and winter bring an uptick in respiratory illnesses, with common culprits including influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). It’s a good time to start taking preventive measures to stay healthy.

The flu vaccine is one of the most effective ways to reduce the severity of influenza illness and to reduce hospitalizations and deaths. Doctors advocate for the flu vaccine and an updated COVID-19 vaccine because they are the best way to prevent serious illness, especially for those who are immune compromised, adults over age 65, people with cancer and others who are in higher risk groups.

RSV might be a new consideration for some. If you are 60 or older, check with your local doctor about the RSV vaccine and find out if it’s right for you.

Your local doctor or local health department web page should list vaccine locations near you. Some locations may even offer the flu vaccine, COVID booster, and RSV vaccine at the same time. Information on flu vaccines at Mayo Clinic can be found here.

The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months of age or older be vaccinated (with an age-appropriate vaccine) annually against influenza. Mayo Clinic recommends annual influenza vaccination to all transplant candidates, transplant recipients, their caregivers and other close contacts. As a transplant patient, you should not receive the FluMist, nor should any of your caregivers or close contacts. The FluMist is a live virus vaccine and could cause people with weakened immune systems to become ill. Although not 100% effective, getting a flu shot is worth the needle stick. Flu shots are the most effective way to prevent serious illness and complications of influenza virus infection.

If you are a transplant patient at another facility or you have contraindications to the vaccine, contact your care team to ask about their recommendations for this flu season.

What you can do to stay healthy in addition to being vaccinated?

It’s easy to do some common things to stay healthy this flu season:

Wash your hands. Wash your hands well and often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water aren't available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Make sure friends and family whom you're around regularly, especially kids, know the importance of hand-washing.
Avoid touching your face. Keeping your hands away from your eyes, nose and mouth helps keep germs away from those places.
Cover your coughs and sneezes. Cough or sneeze into a tissue or your elbow. Then wash your hands.
Wear a mask. Consider wearing a mask when out in public, especially during peak rates of COVID-19 and influenza infection in your geographic area of residence and when in areas of large public gatherings.
Clean surfaces. Regularly clean often-touched surfaces to prevent the spread of infection from touching a surface with the virus on it and then your face.
Avoid crowds. The flu spreads easily wherever people gather — in child care centers, schools, office buildings, auditoriums and on public transportation. By avoiding crowds during peak flu season, you lower your chances of infection.

Do you get your flu vaccine every year? Make it part of your fall routine! Tell us about how you stay healthy in times of high disease transmission.

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