- CDC’s Respiratory Virus Guidance provides strategies you can use to help protect yourself and others from health risks caused by COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses.
- These actions can help you lower the risk of COVID-19 transmission (spreading or catching COVID-19) and lower the risk of severe illness if you get sick.
Core Prevention Strategies
CDC recommends that all people use core prevention strategies to protect themselves and others from COVID-19:
- Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines.
- Although vaccinated people sometimes get infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccines significantly lowers the risk of getting very sick, being hospitalized, or dying from COVID-19.
- Practice good hygiene (practices that improve cleanliness)
- Take steps for cleaner air
When you are sick:
- Use precautions to prevent spread, including staying home and away from others (including people you live with who are not sick) if you have respiratory symptoms.
- Seek health care promptly for testing and/or treatment if you have risk factors for severe illness. Treatment may help lower your risk of severe illness, but it needs to be started within a few days of when your symptoms begin.
Additional Prevention Strategies
In addition, there are other prevention strategies that you can choose to further protect yourself and others.
What to watch out for
Using these prevention strategies can be especially helpful when:
- Respiratory viruses, such as COVID-19, flu, and RSV, are causing a lot of illness in your community
- You or those around you have risk factors for severe illness
- You or those around you were recently exposed to a respiratory virus, are sick, or are recovering
Check Your Community
Find out if respiratory viruses are causing a lot of illness in your community. Data updated weekly.
Content Source:
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division
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