You may have noticed more people around you with a runny nose, chills or coughing. These can be the telltale symptoms of COVID-19, the highly infectious disease that is making a come-back this fall, now with a new strain in the mix.
Fortunately, we have learned a lot about how to prevent COVID-19 since the pandemic, in large part due to University of Maryland School of Public Health’s Dr. Don Milton, one of the world’s foremost experts on how respiratory illnesses like COVID spread. Milton, a UMD Distinguished University Professor, studies airborne respiratory diseases.
“There's no one silver bullet to stop COVID spreading – but there are a few simple things we can do,” says Milton. Here are his recommendations for the best ways to prevent COVID and other flu-like viruses this fall.
1. GET VACCINATED
“The best way to get protected is to get vaccinated. We need vaccinations, especially against COVID, influenza and whooping cough.”
COVID vaccination access in Maryland:
- People do not need a prescription in Maryland to get a vaccine
- Vaccines are available statewide (including at pharmacies who are authorized under Maryland law to give vaccines without a prescription to people 3 years and up)
- Some pharmacies or health clinics may ask people to attest to having a high-risk condition
- “Right now, Marylanders should have access to a COVID-19 vaccine if they want one – and we are taking additional actions to help ensure that doesn't change.” (Maryland Department of Health 2025-2026 COVID-19 Vaccine Standing Order, 091925)
2. GET VENTILATED
“We need to be thinking about air quality and how we share air. Having ceiling and standing fans moving the air around a room has a big impact on transmission. It means that the air around us is diluted. So hang out in places with good ventilation – open windows and doors and use fans.”
3. GET BACK
“Avoid getting up in other peoples' faces unless there's really good ventilation or UV air sanitation.”
“It’s more risky when you're getting together around the dining table or you're going to an off-campus place for refreshments. You get up close with people and you share lots of exhaled breath.”
4. GET MASKED
“If you’re more vulnerable or you want to keep your risk very low, wear a tight-fitting mask or respirator when you're up close with other people. And, if you get infected please wear a mask to protect other people. All masks are somewhat effective at protecting others – and we found the duckbill N95 to be the most effective in stopping COVID in our 2024 study of four different masks.”
5. GET GUV
“Germ-killing ultraviolet lights (GUV) emit UV light that is absorbed by germs, like bacteria and viruses, and kills them on the fly. This technology doesn’t hurt your eyes, won’t give you skin cancer and it sanitizes the air right around us.”
“If GUVs were in places on campus where a lot of people congregate, they could have a big impact on reducing the introduction of viruses into campus and on their spread throughout campus.”
GUV lights are not yet readily available on the individual consumer market, but are already being used in the healthcare industry, for example GUV lamps integrated into hospitals for sterilization processes, and in the food and beverage industry.