With new coronavirus variants making rounds to find their targets, it is time to reinforce the precautions that have kept millions safe during the pandemic. Experts state, especially at this time, with deadlier variants out there that are more likely to be infectious, people need to double their protective measures.
Fortunately, seeing as the virus hasn’t changed and disperses in the same manners, you can still readopt the most hard-learned lessons of 2020 concerning safety and precautions from the coronavirus.
The following tips will help you and others around you remain safe and protected from the virus.
1. Wear a proper and well-fitting face mask
Face masks still reign as one of the best means of stopping the virus’s spread and protecting yourself from the disease. The mask, which acts as a physical barrier, prevents you from inbreathing respiratory droplets in the air left by carriers of the disease and also preventing you from leaving yours. KN95 and N95 are the most effective masks out there, but CDC suggests leaving them for health professionals who spend most of their amongst the ill.
2. Wash your hands frequently
The aerosolized particles and respiratory droplets that spread COVID-19 can fall on the ground, on products in grocery stores, on doorknobs or elevator buttons, for example. If someone touches one of these items and then touches their mouth, eyes, or nose, experts believe in this transmission method. Although this is not the main way the disease spreads, they say it is important to prevent as much as possible.
This means that the shared space must be regularly disinfected and cleaned. It is especially important to wash your hands at certain times, such as before eating, before touching your face, or after going to the bathroom. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer (if it is more than 60% alcohol) if it is not possible to wash your hands.
3. Get yourself vaccinated
The US FDA has now granted emergency authorization for 2 coronavirus vaccines: one developed by Moderna and the other by Pfizer and BioNTech. Emerging data now also proves that both vaccines seem to still be effective against the new U.K. coronavirus variant. Both of them are dependent on mRNA technology to extract a response from the immune system that helps protect you from COVID-19.
While the vaccine rollout in the US was initially slow, it has risen to over 1 million vaccinations daily. By the end of March, the vaccines will be more widely available, according to the new director of the CDC, Rochelle Walensky.
