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CDC s Respiratory Virus Guidance provides strategies you can use to help protect yourself and others from health risks caused by COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses.
These actions can help you lower the risk of COVID-19 transmission (spreading or catching COVID-19) and lower the risk of severe illness if you get sick.
Core Prevention Strategies

CDC recommends that all people use core prevention strategies to protect themselves and others from COVID-19:

Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines. Although vaccinated people sometimes get infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccines significantly lowers the risk of getting very sick, being hospitalized, or dying from COVID-19.
Practice good hygiene (practices that improve cleanliness)
Use precautions to prevent spread, including staying home and away from others (including people you live with who are not sick) if you have respiratory symptoms. Learn when you can go back to your normal activities.
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In addition, there are other prevention strategies that you can choose to further protect yourself and others.

Wearing a mask and putting distance between yourself and others can help lower the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
What to watch out for

Using these prevention strategies can be especially helpful when:

Respiratory viruses, such as COVID-19, flu, and RSV, are causing a lot of illness in your community
You or those around you were recently exposed to a respiratory virus, are sick, or are recovering
Check Your Community Find out if respiratory viruses are causing a lot of illness in your community. Data updated weekly. Check the latest data

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is a disease caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2. It can be very contagious and spreads quickly.

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