Doctors, schools already bracing for colds and flu

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - With hot summer temperatures, preventing colds and the flu is probably the last thing you’re thinking about. But health experts say now is the time to take precautionary measures -- especially as school is about to start.

It may be August, but viral season is right around the proverbial corner, which means viruses like influenza, RSV and COVID-19 will be spreading. And classrooms are hotbeds for spreading germs.

Doctors with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services say now is the time to talk with your kids about what they can do to keep from getting sick. That means getting back to the basics:

• Wash your hands frequently
• Cough into your elbow
• Keep kids home from school when they’re sick

In some parts of the country, COVID-19 is back on the rise and health departments are recommending wearing masks in crowded places.

A new COVID-19 vaccine targeting newer strains of the virus should be ready in early October.

“The U.S. and Wisconsin DHS are preparing for a fall vaccination campaign that uses an updated vaccine developed to target the omicron variants currently in circulation,” Dr. Ryan Westergaard, chief medical officer of the DHS’s Bureau of Communicable Diseases, said.

The newer variants circulating now don’t appear to target kids or cause severe illness but they can spread to people who are more vulnerable.

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