Do you still have to wear a mask in open spaces?
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(CNN) -
With the New Year comes the admittedly ambitious tradition of setting New Year's resolutions, which we hope to be able to fulfill and not abandon after the third week, or even the third day, of 2022.
At the same time, we are entering our third year of fighting a new coronavirus that continues to keep the world in pandemic mode.
That is why it is more important now than ever to think about setting goals that will help us stay healthy and strong enough to get through next year, as the delta variant is displaced by omicron in this country and around the world, and while covid-19 barely evolves from a pandemic to an endemic infection.
What can happen to the coronavirus pandemic in 2022?
What we can expect from the omicron variant and vaccines
In other words, purposes that protect us from the pandemic as much as possible.
That means we have to be proactive rather than reactive: we have to learn from the past, fix things before they break down, and optimize ourselves and our ways of doing things.
As the former creative director of the Lanvin fashion house, Alber Elbaz, said when I interviewed him in 2014: "You know, there is a saying in America that says, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.' And I think so It's not broken, fix it before it breaks. "
(Elbaz tragically succumbed to covid-19 in April 2021).
With this in mind, I've put together a short list of simple and universal purposes for you to consider including among your own.
I know I will follow the list.
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Short list of resolutions:
Get vaccinated
The first thing on my list is to get vaccinated.
Vaccines have been around for more than a year, yet today only 62% of the country is fully vaccinated and 33% of Americans have had a booster dose.
A large number of Latin American countries have higher vaccination rates than Europe and the United States
I never tire of repeating it: getting vaccinated is the best way to reduce the risk of having a bad result if we get sick from covid-19.
According to a recent estimate from the Commonwealth Fund, the vaccine's dissemination effort in the United States has prevented 1.1 million deaths from covid, more than 10.3 million hospitalizations, and nearly 36 million infections through November 2021. Still, too many preventable deaths occurred at a time when vaccines were already available.
They are very effective against the delta variant, which continues to drive some outbreaks in parts of the United States.
And while preliminary studies show that some vaccines may be less effective in preventing infection with the omicron variant, they still help prevent hospitalizations and deaths, especially with the booster.
So if you haven't been vaccinated yet, now is the time to do so.
A pandemic-proof body
Besides the vaccine, there are other important ways to protect your body against the pandemic. We are often motivated to stay healthy out of fear of future illness - eat well to avoid cancer or dementia in old age, or exercise to avoid cardiovascular disease later on. The pandemic has taught us that being healthy can be a great protection against serious illness right now, not just in the decades to come. Putting yourself in the best possible shape, within reason, prepares you to better fight the virus in the event of an infection.
If you smoke, try quitting: you don't need me to tell you it's bad for you in many ways; the pandemic only adds one more. If you don't exercise, start doing it. Physical activity is essential for good health; even something as simple as walking can do wonders. If you have a chronic disease, such as liver, kidney, or heart disease, or diabetes, which has been shown to worsen outcomes for people who fight the virus, try to manage those conditions as well as possible.
Another condition strongly linked to the worst outcomes of COVID-19 is obesity and being overweight, a problem that affects nearly three-quarters of Americans over the age of 20.
One of the most common questions I've received is about the connection between being overweight and severe COVID, so here's what happens to your body in that case.
Obesity and diabetes raise the risk of severe covid-19 4:57
It's no wonder losing weight is a popular New Years resolution.
I am not going to lie, it is a very challenging goal that many people struggle with, and it is not usually achieved quickly.
So this coming year, maybe it helps to have a different mindset. Instead of dieting to lose weight, aim to eat right to boost your immune system. What does this mean? Scientists have learned that about 80% of immunity resides in the gut microbiome - the trillions of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other organisms that reside inside your intestines and play a key role in digestion. nutrition and immunity (among other vital activities). Food is one of the clearest and fastest messages you send to your body every day, a signal for those trillions of microorganisms that are ready to act.
Simply put, what you eat for breakfast can affect immunity at dinner time.
And the healthiest microbiomes are the most diverse.
That means you should also eat a wide variety of foods;
rainbow colors (like fruits, vegetables, and fermented foods) should fill your plate.
Focusing on just one superfood is a mistake.
The wider the variety of healthy foods, the better because that will diversify your microbiome, which in turn will improve your immune system.
Although developing and maintaining a healthy microbiome will not immunize you against COVID-19, it will reduce your risk of serious diseases.
(I explain this further in my latest book, "World War C").
And let's face it: choosing healthy foods every day is more realistic than shedding 10 or 100 kilos overnight.
Also, you may notice other health benefits, as I did.
A scientist friend I talk to regularly recommended that I keep a detailed food diary along with some items I wanted to measure such as mood, creativity, willingness to work, and exercise.
It became very clear to me that when I ate pickles, my metrics were always high: I could sit down and write an article, I could go for a run, I felt great, my mood was high, and I had a lot of energy.
It turns out that pickles and other fermented foods are great food for feeding the microbiota.
Now pickles may not work the same way for you, but you can experiment the same way I did to find out what gives you a boost.
Protect your home against the pandemic
The next thing is to protect your home against the pandemic.
That means following basic public health recommendations.
Things like making sure everyone in the family is up-to-date on their vaccinations and, to avoid a double pandemic, their annual flu shot as well.
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Other measures include keeping your hands and frequently touched surfaces clean, and making sure you have a supply of masks for use in common indoor spaces such as elevators, supermarkets and shopping centers, especially if you live in a place with high community transmission. Keep your distance when possible, and if you decide to gather indoors, make sure there is sufficient ventilation by opening the windows or turning on a portable HEPA air purifier. One way to get an idea of the ventilation in your home is to use a CO2 monitor.
Consider having over-the-counter quick tests on hand.
Research shows that although these antigen tests are less accurate than PCR tests at detecting infection (especially in the early stages and in asymptomatic people), they are especially good at determining whether someone is contagious at the moment.
This means that they can be used to examine large numbers of people or before a large event.
Although it is difficult to find them now, the shortage of stocks should decrease.
It's important to think about the Swiss cheese model: no single measure is going to be 100% effective in protecting you against infection in all situations, but with each additional layer, you gain more protection.
A pandemic-proof mind
My final resolution recommendation is to protect your mind against the pandemic. It won't surprise you to learn that mental health problems have increased in the last two years, even among children. Take the time to address any issues you may be experiencing to avoid aggravating an already difficult time.
An important way to do this is to maintain our ties with others.
Human beings are social by nature and we thrive when we are connected.
Ironically, the pandemic had to remind us that being social is not just a luxury, but a necessity, even as it robbed us of the contact we need to thrive.
So take time to reach out to your family, friends, and colleagues to cultivate and nurture relationships.
Even a brief but positive exchange with a random stranger, such as a smile on the street, can have long-lasting effects and rebound abroad.
Mental health in minors is affected by the pandemic 1:03
It is also important to get out of our own silos to connect and understand those who think differently, be it our neighbor, a teacher, our sister-in-law or our own parents.
We have evolved to cooperate with each other, otherwise we could not survive as a species;
caring for others is encoded in our DNA.
Covid-19 was the third leading cause of death in 2020 in this country: the way to mitigate its impact is to start listening in order to start cooperating.
Let's fight together for our future.
I will be by your side.
That is my purpose for 2022.
Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.
- CNN Health's Andrea Kane contributed to this report.
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