Infectious disease expert Ravina Kullar's husband has a cold. So does her sister-in-law.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Clinic's waiting rooms are becoming much more frequented by folks with coughs, sneezes and sniffles, said family medicine physician Dr. Neha Vyas.
These folks are part of a nationwide trend occurring as COVID-19 vaccinations rise, masks drop, protective restrictions lift, and life returns to some semblance of normal, experts say.
"Face masks have protected us not only from COVID-19 infection, but also other respiratory infections such as colds, the flu," said Kullar, a consultant with Expert Stewardship Inc., a California company that promotes infection prevention in long-term care facilities. "People now are more susceptible to catching these respiratory viruses that someone acquires through the nasal passage or the mouth. It's right on par with lifting the restrictions."
Earlier this month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an advisory warning that one of these bugs -- respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) -- has been on the rise in 13 states, mostly in the South.
