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Common viruses have waited for the opportunity to reemerge and spread

Long-term immunity against most cold viruses is non-existent. Health officials say common viruses have been kept at bay for years during the COVID-19 pandemic and they are just waiting for the opportunity to spread.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Long-term immunity against most cold viruses is non-existent. Health officials say common viruses have been kept at bay for years during the COVID-19 pandemic and they are just waiting for the opportunity to spread.

If you’ve been feeling sick with symptoms that align with COVID-19-- but keep testing negative—chances are you’ve caught a cold or flu. Communities are experiencing a resurgence of some common viruses that have, until recently, been kept at bay.

Masking and social distancing didn’t just ward off COVID. These prevention tactics have affected other viruses too. When masks came off and people started congregating again, common viruses were waiting in the wings for a chance to spread.

Adults have an average of 2-3 colds per year, and children have even more. And most people get colds in the winter and spring. But health officials say when pandemic prevention tactics were reduced, many common viruses reemerged to infect and spread--regardless of the time of year.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Adults have an average of 2-3 colds per year, and children have even more. And most people get colds in the winter and spring. But health officials say when pandemic prevention tactics were reduced, many common viruses reemerged to infect and spread--regardless of the time of year.

Lane County’s Senior Public Health Officer Dr. Patrick Luedtke explained how our bodies aren’t ready.

“The long-term immunity against most of the cold viruses is non-existent. So common cold coronaviruses, you get infected with them and then a year, year and a half later, you get infected with the same darn virus again,” he said. “Your immunity wanes over time.”

Because the last few years have seen very little ongoing common respiratory infections, Luedtke predicted we’re at risk for some nasty cold and flu seasons ahead.

Tiffany joined the KLCC News team in 2007. She studied journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia and worked in a variety of media including television, technical writing, photography and daily print news before moving to the Pacific Northwest.