2022-02-25 08:13:17

Top 5 Current COVID-19 Safety Strategies

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As COVID-19 has evolved from delta to omicron, so too have some strategies to protect one’s health, clients and business. Some common-sense approaches to combatting COVID-19 that were instituted early on in the pandemic should still be adhered to. Here is a full list of the approaches you can take now to stay healthy.
 
1. Upgrade Your Mask
Set aside your cloth mask and upgrade to a mask that features zero gaps, a close fit, electrostatic layers and does not have a valve. This means upgrading to an N95.
 
This is the type of mask the CDC now recommends, as it offers much better filtration against the highly transmissible COVID-19 omicron variant—filtering out up to 95% of viral particles versus cloth masks’ 27%, according to Ezell Askew, MD.
 
When COVID-19 began spreading in early 2020, N95 masks were not recommended for non-medical workers; however, there are no longer shortages of N95 masks—but as the demand for these better-quality masks has grown, so has the prevalence of counterfeit masks. How can you make sure you aren’t about to buy a box of fakes? According to the American Medical Association, a real N95 will have the word “NIOSH” in block letters along with the testing and certification approval number and model number—on the mask itself, not just on the packaging.
 
Beginning in late January, the federal government began making free N95 masks available at community health centers and pharmacies.
 
2. Clean & Move Indoor Air
COVID-19 is airborne—specifically, the aerosols exhaled by an infected person can be loaded with virus, and when these aerosols circulate in a room the greater the risk another person will breathe them in—so it’s essential to make sure your indoor space is well-ventilated or contains an air purifier running on high.
 
“When used properly, air cleaners and HVAC filters can help reduce airborne contaminants including viruses in a building or small space,” notes a statement from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
 
However, the EPA also notes that air cleaning or filtration by itself can’t stop the spread of COVID-19 and that a proper mask must be worn as well.
 
3. Sanitize Surfaces a threat to your practice’s cleanliness, surface disinfection that includes a proven product plus contact time is essential for a healthy massage practice.
 
4. Test Frequently
If you’ve been exposed to someone carrying the COVID-19 virus, testing at home can help keep your friends, familyand clients safe from infection. Some massage therapists report that they ask clients to self-test before each session and increase their massage fee to cover the cost of the test rather than have clients pay for that outright.
 
If you have health insurance, you can bill your plan for home test-kit reimbursement for up to eight over-the-counter tests per month. (Learn more here.)
 
As with masks, counterfeit COVID-19 home-tests are on the market. To determine you are buying an authentic kit, click here for the list of FDA-approved brands.
 
Every home in the U.S is eligible to order four free at-home COVID tests from covidtests.gov.
 
5. Get Vaccinated and Boosted
Omicron is most life-threatening for the elderly, people with underlying conditions, and the unvaccinated. Although breakthrough infections are happening in unvaccinated people, rates of serious disease, such medical procedures as going on a ventilator, and death are much lower than in those who are vaccinated.
 
In late January the CDC released a report on COVID-19 hospitalizations and death rates by vaccination status and summarized, “COVID-19 vaccination protected against SARS-CoV-2 infection, even as the Omicron variant became predominant. All eligible persons should stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccination … unvaccinated persons had 13.9 and 53.2 times the risks for infection and COVID-19–associated death, respectively, compared with fully vaccinated persons who received booster doses, and 4.0 and 12.7 times the risks compared with fully vaccinated persons without booster doses.”
 

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