Five ways you can protect yourself against COVID-19
Carla is in the supermarket, deciding whether to cook pelau or tacos with black beans. Customers bustle, employees are packing shelves. A father chases after a screaming child. Suddenly, Carla’s mask tickles her nose and she releases one of her mega sneezes. Silence falls. People in the aisle stare at her. Carla grabs some pigeon peas and quickly heads to another part of the grocery.
Amid a pandemic, sensitivity about normal bodily functions is understandable. Worse, as the Delta variant numbers go up, normal bodily functions no longer feel, well, normal.
To avoid feeling panicked, here are five simple ways to protect yourself and your family. Let's countdown these measures:
5. Avoid touching your face
Why? The coronavirus may easily attach to the mucus membranes in our nose or mouth and even the protective soft tissues on the inner part of our eyes. Touching our faces is a naturally comforting gesture, but it increases the chance of becoming infected.
4. Avoid large gatherings
People may spread the virus in ways similar to other respiratory illnesses like the flu. These include sneezing, coughing and even breathing. Droplets from infected persons may also attach to the vulnerable areas on our face, so maintaining a safe distance reduces the chances of this happening.
3. Wear a mask - properly
Masks, when worn properly help to provide a protective barrier between yourself and an infected person. Cover your nose, mouth and chin to ensure better protection.
2. Protect your immune system
The design of our immune system serves to protect us from disease, so we should keep it healthy. When our body detects a threat from a virus like COVID-19, it produces antibodies to defend us. Eating the right foods, exercise, reducing our stress and maintaining a suitable weight are some of the ways we can support our immune system.
1. Vaccinate
Coupled with the aforementioned preventative measures, the vaccine is our #1 way to protect against COVID-19. It helps our immune system recognise and build defence mechanisms by introducing a weakened version of the virus into our bodies. Global data shows that the vaccine can save you from hospitalisation or even death, since overwhelmingly, people dying from the disease are unvaccinated.
Follow this simple advice, so the next time Carla sneezes you’ll be “covered”!
Vaccinate today....live tomorrow!
Did you know?
Public health measures to protect us against flu like viruses have been in existence since the 1918 pandemic.
Since the occurrence of the first coronavirus of the 21st century (SARS CoV1) in 2003, scientists have been preparing to develop safe vaccines to protect us against diseases like COVID-19.
