As winter approaches, kids have started bringing home coughs and sneezes from school and lots of folks are feeling a little off, maybe with a nagging tickle in their throats or an irritating cough. Could be the drier air as we start firing up our wood stoves. Or it could be a cold or some other virus, like the flu.
If you want to know whether you have a cold, the flu or Covid-19, you can order four free at-home Covid-19 tests from the federal government at COVIDTests.gov. Shipping is free and you’ll only need to give your name and shipping address. You may share your email if you want shipping updates, but you need not share any other information.
If you don’t have tests on hand and need to be tested right away, contact your Primary Care Provider—your health insurance plan should cover a test given by an in-network provider—or buy tests at your local pharmacy.
It’s also a good time of year to get the vaccines you need. Look, no one likes getting poked with a needle, but a quick shot could lower the chance that you’ll get sick. And even if you do catch a bug, you may have much milder symptoms.
Ask your doctor about to whether you’re up to date with vaccinations, whether for Covid-19, pneumonia, the flu, shingles, RSV or other viruses. When it comes to Covid-19, you may have seen recent news from the Centers for Disease Control about changes in who should get the vaccine, but your doctor will be the best guide when it comes to your personal health.
Community Health Options Members won’t pay anything out of pocket for Covid vaccinations or Covid tests administered by an in-network provider, like a doctor or pharmacy. Community Health Options also provides full coverage for flu vaccines from in-network providers.
You can learn more about immunizations at Healthwise, a nonprofit service Community Health Options offers to provide unbiased, evidence-based and research-driven answers to your questions. You can also find information about a range of vaccines, check symptoms and search tons of topics to support your health.
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Let’s face it. There’s a lot of health-related information on the internet. Not sure whether that lingering cold needs some antibiotics? Google that and you’ll get bundle of responses, but it’s often not easy to know which source to trust.
Community Health Options offers its Members a solution with access to Healthwise®, which like Health Options, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to your health and wellbeing. Through Healthwise, you can search for symptoms and find solutions that fit your needs. And that search won’t yield questionable results. Instead, you’ll get unbiased, evidence-based and research-driven answers to your most pressing health questions.
You can, of course, search for information about physical symptoms, but you can also search for topics that support your mental and emotional wellbeing. For example, start typing “optimism,” and you’ll be taken to a page with resources to help you work through negative thoughts and anxiety.
