Ah, the first day of Spring.  Although our weather has seemed more like Spring since New Year’s.  (Maybe even it felt like Summer for a few days, too.)  We can thank this phenomenon to the climate change that we are experiencing. (Please don’t tell me you also deny climate science!).  That’s also why the sickness season really extends until May, nowadays.

We still are advised to get the flu shot no later than November, because the prime season to contract the flu is between December and March. But, it’s not just the flu that waylays our days. The winter season harbors the most prevalent times to contract a cold, RSV ( Respiratory Syncytial Virus, a respiratory illness), as well as rotaviral/noroviral GI tract diseases.  Not to mention our new nemesis- Covid-19.

Yet, despite the falsehoods spewing from TheDonald’s mouth, the real problem is that we have NO clue why there are seasonal trends to these illnesses. Because if we did, we could prevent outbreaks that devastate large portions of the world’s population.

Lessons in reducing the spread of the coronavirus from Trump's news conference: pic.twitter.com/HWu8wiXH2o

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) March 14, 2020

So, don’t tell me that we get sicker just because it gets cold. (If that were the case, I’d never get sick- because I never feel cold.)

And, we’ve disproven that notion by infecting folks with cold viruses- and split the treated population between staying ‘warm & dry’ and ‘cold & wet’. Guess what? Everyone fell ill at about the same rates. Whoops. There goes that theory.

Another theory? We stay indoors more in the winter. And, because we do, we stay more contiguous to one another, which means respiratory viruses can more easily jump from person to person. That sounds like it could pose some merit, but…

We also know that moisture droplets evaporate in the wintry conditions, and that process allows the pathogens to stay suspended longer. When the humidity increases (like the conditions that obtain in the summer), the pathogen-droplet mixtures drop like logs- and are less likely to be inhaled.

Moreover, it seems that MODERATE cold weather conditions are far more dangerous that the extremes. Our airways become constricted, which also suppresses our defense mechanisms. There’s also stress on our cardiovascular systems. (This involved researchers from around the world, A. Gasparrini, primary author, The Lancet. )

So, we still can’t quite put our fingers on the exact reason why there’s a seasonality to these illnesses..

Which means, we need to be vaccinated against all these potential threats. It’s our last line of defense.  And, we shouldn’t expect Covid-19 to disappear anytime soon- unless social distancing is truly being followed by us all.

Happy hibernations!

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