Brookline Department of Public Health and Human Services Shares Updated Guidance on Respiratory Viruses

BROOKLINE — Director of Public Health and Human Services Sigalle Reiss shares new community guidance from the State of Massachusetts regarding respiratory viruses.

On Monday, March 25, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) released its updated guidance for respiratory viruses. This follows the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance released on Friday, March 1. Both the CDC and MDPH released simplified, updated guidance on how people and communities can best protect themselves from respiratory viruses like RSV, flu, and COVID-19. Decreased hospitalizations and deaths associated with COVID-19, widespread immunity, and evidence-based mitigation measures influence this new guidance that emphasizes practical recommendations and information to help lower the risk posed by a range of common respiratory viral illnesses, while protecting those most vulnerable to severe illness.

Prevention steps and guidance include:

• Staying up to date with vaccination against flu, COVID-19, and RSV if eligible
  • As of March 16, 35.4 percent of Brookline residents are vaccinated against COVID-19. This is significantly higher than the state-wide vaccination rate of 21.2 percent and the City of Boston vaccination rate of 20.7 percent. 51.3 percent of Brookline residents are vaccinated against the flu, compared with the state-wide vaccinate rate of 41.1 percent and the Boston vaccination rate of 40.5 percent. Additional data can be found on the MDPH data dashboard: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/immunizations-for-respiratory-diseases
  • Everyone ages 5 years and older should get one dose of an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against serious illness.
  • COVID-19 vaccines are still available at no cost to most people living in the U.S. through their private health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid plans. To find a COVID-19 vaccination site, visit: vaccines.gov
  • The CDC’s Bridge Access Program provides no-cost COVID-19 vaccines to adults 18 years and older without health insurance and adults whose insurance does not cover all COVID-19 vaccine costs. For more information visit: vaccines.gov
  • People who are homebound are still eligible to receive an in-home COVID-19 vaccine through the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in-home COVID-19 Vaccination Program. Call the in-home vaccination central intake line at 833-983-0485 to schedule an appointment

• Practicing good hygiene by covering coughs and sneezes with your elbow or a tissue and sanitizing or washing hands often with soap and water
• Improving air quality by opening windows, utilizing air purifiers, or gathering outdoors
• Staying home upon development of respiratory symptoms

The CDC no longer recommends a five-day isolation upon testing positive for COVID-19. Instead, people who get sick with any respiratory viruses should stay home and away from others, returning to normal activities only when symptoms are improving, and the person has been fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.

Upon returning to normal activities, people are encouraged to take additional measures for five days to prevent disease spread. Recommended efforts include enhancing hygiene practices, wearing a well-fitting mask, keeping a distance from others, increasing ventilation to clean air, utilizing indoor air filters, and/or getting tested for respiratory viruses. These measures are especially important to protect those most vulnerable, including people over age 65 and people who are immunocompromised. The CDC respiratory virus guidance update can be found here. The MDPH update can be found here.

Respiratory viruses remain a public health threat, but more than 98 percent of the U.S. population now has some protective immunity against Covid-19. Together, we can use a unified approach to protect ourselves and our community. Let’s work together to keep Brookline healthy.