According to the Morgridge Institute of Research: “There are over 62 million annual occurrence
s of the common cold along with 20 million school days lost annually in the United States according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Rhinoviruses are estimated to be the culprit for about 35% of these cases.” Depending on the source, the start of cold season is around September. This is when Rhinovirus, the culprit for a majority of common colds peaks. With the marvels of modern medicine, one would believe there is a possible solution for this rampant problem. However, there are over 100 different types of Rhinoviruses, which has naturally made developing a vaccine for the Rhinoviruses very difficult.
According to the CDC, “The exact timing and duration of flu seasons varies, but influenza activity often begins to increase in October,” however in Morristown, and nationally, vaccines are already being offered at pharmacies, such as Walmart and CVS. It would seem that flu season is starting early.
However, some believe that COVID is rearing its ugly head again, due to a recent “spike” in cases, with members of West students and staff getting sick. Statistics do not agree with this sentiment with Hamblen County having some of the lowest case numbers in the state.
The combination of The Cold, Flu, and possibly COVID caused school attendance to dip during the opening month. With students getting sick, possibly due to the shock in the immune system from all the exposure to other people, and their germs. In fact some people believe the mask formerly worn to protect from COVID as well as other anti-germ tactics may have weakened peoples’ immune systems, causing them to atrophy in a way. This would explain the sickness prevalent at the beginning of this new school year
