The holiday season is also cold and flu season. We spend a lot of time entertaining and at holiday parties, which means a lot of opportunities for airborne viruses to spread. According to one report, one person sneezing can infect an entire room with Influenza A. This microbe can survive  for up to 24 hours and spread to holiday guests six feet away—even without a sneeze to send it along.

Here is a holiday to-do list to make sure we don’t give or receive germs for Christmas:

1       Get a flu shot

During this time, flu viruses are circulating in the population. An annual seasonal flu vaccine (either the flu shot or the nasal-spray flu vaccine) is the best way to reduce the chances that you will get seasonal flu and spread it to others. When more people get vaccinated against the flu, less flu can spread through that community. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

2.       Clean hands, clean surfaces

During the holiday rush, we may forget to keep our hands clean even after simple contact such as shaking hands at the office. Use pocket hand sanitizer to make minimizing the spread of germs convenient. The same can be said for surfaces in our home, especially after someone in the house has already been sick. Be sure to disinfect key germ-carrying surfaces such as the TV remote control and the door handles to refrigerators and microwaves.

3.       Purify your indoor air

The impact of an air purifier, even running discreetly in the background of your holiday get-together, can be dramatic. The Fellowes AeraMax captures 99.97% of airborne particles as small as 0.3 microns, which can help clean the air of those stubborn viruses, ensuring cleaner and healthier holiday entertaining.