Dr. Brooke Hildebrand Clubbs

One for All Missouri states that traditional Halloween activities like trick or treating or going to parties can increase your chances of catching and spreading COVID-19. However, celebrating holidays can be important during challenging times.

There are ways to safely keep some Halloween traditions, or you could get creative and wind up with a new tradition that lasts long after the pandemic is over!

If you are giving out treats, keep in mind these guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

The American Society of Hematology states, “Blood clotting, or coagulation, is an important process that prevents excessive bleeding when a blood vessel is injured. Platelets and proteins in your plasma work together to stop the bleeding by forming a clot over the injury. Typically, your body will naturally dissolve the blood clot after the injury has healed. Sometimes, however, clots form on the inside of vessels without an obvious injury or do not dissolve naturally. These situations can be dangerous and require accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

In the early 1990s, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Estee Lauder and Self magazine began distributing pink ribbons at events to promote breast cancer awareness.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  

Today, most people are aware of breast cancer, but many don’t have a plan to detect the disease in its early stages and encourage others to do the same.

On June 15, 2020 the American Red Cross began testing all blood, platelet and plasma donations for COVID-19 antibodies.

As the flu season approaches in the United States, health experts are warning that the addition of another respiratory illness on top of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could overburden the health care system, strain testing capacity, and increase the risk of catching both diseases at once.

Although the infection fatality rate of flu is roughly 10 times less than that of COVID-19, it still kills 30 to 60,000 Americans every year. However, unlike COVID-19, the flu is a familiar foe, and a safe and effective vaccine is available every year.