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The Best (and Most Obvious) Way to Prevent Spreading Disease
The organizers of National Handwashing Awareness Week, which runs through Saturday, want you to know that washing your hands with soap and warm water, or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, is the best way to stop the spread of germs. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cite handwashing as the “single most effective way to prevent the transmission of disease.”
Dr. William Sawyer’s Henry the Hand Foundation is the driving force behind the public awareness week, which began in 1999 in response to a flu vaccine shortage in Cincinnati, Ohio. “Spread the word, not the germs,” is a favorite catchphrase for the campaign that encourages everyone to follow the CDC recommendations for handwashing the right way.
But routine handwashing isn’t just about staying healthy through the winter. It’s also about improving public health for everyone, and getting better value out of health care.
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