Johns Hopkins health experts share how to stay healthy with respiratory illnesses on the rise

BALTIMORE -- As temperatures drop, illnesses tend to rise.

But Johns Hopkins Public Health experts warn that what's going around may be more serious than just the sniffles.

Experts at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health say not only is flu season approaching but COVID and RSV cases are starting to climb.

"A lot of people in our lecture halls are coughing sometimes now," Kate Xie, a Johns Hopkins University student, said.

Now that we've entered fall, health experts say COVID and RSV appear to be re-emerging as flu season is on the horizon.

"We expect cases in children and older adults to continue to increase over the next few weeks," Dr. Andrew Pekosz from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said.

With the change of seasons, health experts are monitoring the changes in COVID, RSV and flu variants and making sure vaccines are up-to-date.

"Things are looking good when it comes to matches between the vaccines and the circulating respiratory viruses," Pekosz said.

"I got the flu shot a couple of weeks ago because JHU requires that, so I've been OK so far," Xie said.

Dr. Keri Althoff with the Department of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said another way to stay healthy this fall is ventilation.

"If you are hosting a holiday gathering or considering attending an event with a lot of people, remember that ventilation is important to reduce transmission," Althoff said. "There are low-cost options for improving ventilation in your home like simply opening windows."

Althoff says antivirals are available for COVID and influenza but not RSV. 

She says if you do get COVID or influenza and are at risk for severe illness, contact your primary care provider about treatment options.