People can prepare for the fall cold and flu season by getting updated vaccinations COVID tests can help people determine their own treatment and isolate Mild or moderate COVID cases should be treated like a cold, with hydration and over-the-counter remedies MONDAY, Sept. 16, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- People should prepare for the fall cold and flu season by getting the updated influenza and vaccinations, an infectious diseases expert says. “When my patients ask me if they should be getting a COVID vaccine this year, yes, essentially anybody over the ages of 6 months, I'm recommending it,” , an assistant professor of infectious diseases at Duke University, said in a interview.
“It's especially important for anybody who is over the age of 65 or has a chronic underlying medical condition.” Three updated COVID vaccines have been approved, all of which target the latest variants. “I've been recommending that my patients receive one of the updated vaccines, as opposed to one of the older ones, because they better protect against the viruses that are currently circulating,” Turner said.
“The updated vaccines should already be available.” COVID tends to come in two peaks per year, once in the late summer and early fall and another in the winter, Turner said. The federal government plans to offer another round of free at-home COVID tests by the end of the month, in another step to help Americans prepare for any fall outbreaks.
However, Turner says people don’t necess.