Autumn is here and with it the colder weather and the ever-increasing outbreaks of colds and flu. We are now, almost by law of nature, facing more than six months with various viruses in circulation and the associated spread of infection in offices and classrooms.
In the winter of 22/23, Swedish society set a record for staying at home to care for children. The theory is that the pandemic years made Swedes, and not least children, less resistant to all kinds of infections as their immune system was weakened.
According to an interview in Dagens Nyheter, state epidemiologist Anders Lindbom says that children and adults probably have a better immune system for the upcoming virus season. Exactly what mix of different viruses will be circulating in Swedish offices and schools in the coming months remains to be seen.
The Swedish Public Health Agency expects that many people are at risk of being infected by a mutated, but less severe, version of COVID-19 in the future. At the same time, it is often difficult to forecast the spread of the virus. As usual, this makes it difficult to predict the seasonal flu, whose vaccine is developed continuously during the season and is not ready until well into the New Year.
In an interview with DN, state epidemiologist Anders Lindbom answers the question of whether there are general lessons to be learned from the pandemic. His answer is: "Yes, it is never wrong to think about not infecting your surroundings, to stay at home when you are sick and keep your distance from the sick. And washing your hands reduces the risk of other infections spreading between people."
Vaccines are often fundamental in the fight against viruses and a heavy part of all our various layers of protection to prevent the spread of infection in offices and schools.
These injections are often developed and designed to work on a specific virus, while there are complementary technologies that offer a broader spectrum and proven protection against both old and new viruses.
The LightAir Health+ concept includes a Swedish-developed technology that, during a seven-year study led by Karolinska Institutet, has been shown to have a major impact on the ability of various viruses to spread.
However, technologies are often overlooked in the fight against the spread of infection in offices or schools. We have previously written in this blog about how progressive and leading employers can relatively easily implement a technology-based protection layer on a broad front. And this at a lower monthly cost per employee than most Swedish offices spend on coffee for employees.
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We are facing a tough virus autumn and flu winter with an increased spread of infection in offices and classrooms. Lessons from the pandemic years should be drawn, including the possibility of adding technology as one of the layers of protection in the fight against viruses and influenza.
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