Another spring is coming, and it is getting warmer and more pleasant. Many people are planning activities for the new year. As time goes on, the influence of the pandemic has been getting less and less on people’s considerations. According to the data from the CDC, the new cases of COVID-19 have been showing a decreasing trend, as the number of the average 7 days new cases declined from 1050 on Jan 22, 2022, to 113 on Jan 22, 2023. However, are we able to ignore the pandemic now?
The answer is an absolute “no”. Though the impact of the pandemic is gradually diminishing, and our lives seem to be returning to the state before it, however, the factors of the disease have not completely disappeared. The past three years have changed the US healthcare system a lot, and it is foreseeable that this change will last for a long time even though the pandemic is gradually fading out.
Something still hasn’t changed now, for instance, hospitals and other medical institutions are still facing a lot of financial pressure. Justin Gernot, the vice president of a healthcare consulting firm Healthbox recently said, “Healthcare systems have been going through a state of flux due to the pandemic, and the influence is more profound than we may think. It is very obvious that many of them will experience financial hardship in the near future due to the changing nature of healthcare.”
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. The gradual weakening of the negative impact of the pandemic is a pleasant thing in itself after all. Despite the challenges we have never imagined in the worldwide healthcare value chain, the need for services continued to be unabated and growing in the past three years. Though persistent consumer price inflation could dampen the outlook, the prospects and expectations of most economic experts appear to be more favorable than we think.
Profitability recovery (since the second half of 2022) can explain the optimism. Another explanation for this optimism is that the spreading and continuing pandemic in the last few years has increased the innovation capability in the field of the general healthcare system, and this change is likely to last for a long time in the foreseeable future.
Still, we cannot just reduce our defenses against the virus and treat it lightly now. Awareness of virus prevention and health remains important. Today, when we don’t need to be so cautious and need to return to normal life order, how should we prevent the pandemic and other potential viruses?
Get Fully Vaccinated
According to the latest report of Our World in Data, about 69.6% of the world population has taken at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, which means over 13.3 billion doses have been taken globally every day. Until February 14, 2023, the number of total COVID-19 vaccine doses administered had reached 202.1 doses per 100 people, which means the average American has already received two shots of COVID-19 vaccines. If you are still not vaccinated till now, you should be careful and receive some shots right now! Since the constant mutation of viruses and the increasing number of people getting infected, not getting fully vaccinated now is putting you in real danger. Getting yourself vaccinated can not keep you completely away from COVID-19, instead, it reduces the chances of getting a serious infection, like some life-threatening symptoms for instance, pulmonary fibrosis shock and confusion – the really dangerous, serious ones.
Boost Your Immune System
As spring comes, unstable temperatures, changing seasons, and climates can also easily make you feel sick. In order to stay in a good condition and keep yourself away from all kinds of diseases, here are some ways to get yourself a better immune system:
- Keep a good and regular routine
A better and more regular routine can help you get more quality sleep. A regular schedule, according to sleep experts, not only tends to increase the amount of sleep people get each night, but it can also improve the quality of that sleep. Many surveys show that most adults need at least 7 hours of sleep a day. If you sleep less than 7 hours for a long time, you are more likely to go into a sub-health state and become unhealthier than before. Keeping a regular routine can not only help you gain enough sleep, but it can also help you maintain a regular metabolism and stay healthy.
- Eat healthily
Eating always plays an important role in our daily life. However, many snacks and food may make you unhealthy and you haven’t been aware of it at all! For instance, desserts like cookies, cakes, and ice creams may contain a lot of sugar that may make you look older. Fried food like french fries and fried chicken in fast food restaurants are also likely to make you gain lots of weight. Though some people may think that “unhealthy food is always tastier”, there are many healthy foods you can eat! Healthy snacks in Vitacost provide both good taste and adequate nutrition, why don’t you have a try of that?
The pandemic may be temporary, but keeping ourselves healthy can be permanent. Let’s focus on our health even after the spreading virus, and have a better life ever after!
