Back to Basics: Indoor Air and Preparing for Winter Respiratory Disease Season
Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine how to prepare for the upcoming winter respiratory disease season. Now that fall has arrived, are you ready for this year’s winter respiratory disease season? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts that COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections will lead to a similar or lower number of combined peak hospitalizations this winter than the 2023-2024 season. The CDC’s predictions are based on expert opinion, historical data, and scenario modeling conducted by its Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics for COVID-19, influenza, and RSV. However, there’s inherent uncertainty in any long-range scenario. Factors that could drive higher rates of serious illness and hospitalizations include the following: A new COVID-19 variant with an increased ability to evade the body’...