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The first Sunday in November is when Daylight Saving Time ends in most areas of the country including Wisconsin. We "fall back" one hour by returning to Standard Time at 2 a.m. this Sunday, November 6. Be sure to set your clocks back one hour before bedtime on Saturday night, November 5!
With the time changes, drivers can face many seasonal challenges, such as:
- Shorter daylight days
- Fatigue
- Compromised night vision
- Rush hour traffic
- Impaired drivers
According to the National Safety Council (NSC), national statistics reveal these risks become especially pronounced moving into the weekend, with fatal crashes peaking on Saturday nights. It's worth noting the number of nonfatal crashes tended to be higher on weekdays, peaking on Friday. For both fatal and nonfatal crashes, the peak time of day was 4 to 7:59 p.m..
- Peak crash periods vary substantially over the span of a year:
- During the spring and summer months, fatal crashes tended to peak between 8 and 11:59 p.m.
- The nonfatal crash peak is earlier in the summer, from noon to 3:59 p.m.
- From October through March, the peak for fatal crashes was from 4 to 7:59 p.m.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the common flu resulted in 9 million to 41 million illnesses, 140,000–710,000 hospitalizations, and 12,000–52,000 deaths annually between 2010 and 2020. Learn more at the CDC's Disease Burden of Flu online.
The overall burden of influenza (flu) for the 2019-20 flu season was an estimated 36 million flu-related illnesses, 16 million flu-related medical visits, 390,000 flu-related hospitalizations, and 25,000 flu-related deaths, according to published statistics.
Individuals younger than 5 and over 65 years old are at increased risk. The CDC recommends everyone older than 6 months get the annual flu vaccine as soon as it becomes available. October and November are the ideal months to get your seasonal flu shot/flu vaccine, but it's never too late especially during the ongoing COVID pandemic. Additional information is available online.
Vaccine and COVID-19 Vaccine Co-administration
Studies conducted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic indicate that it is safe to get both a COVID-19 vaccine and a flu vaccine at the same visit. A recent CDC study published in the Journal of the American Medicine Association (JAMA) suggests people who received a flu vaccine and an mRNA COVID-19 booster vaccine at the same time were 8-11 percent more likely to report systemic reactions including fatigue, headache, and muscle ache than people who only received a COVID-19 mRNA booster vaccine, but these reactions were mostly mild and resolved quickly. The findings of this study are consistent with safety data from clinical trials that did not identify any serious safety concerns with co-administration. If you have concerns about getting both vaccines at the same time, you should speak with a health care provider. Those seeking addition information and guidance should can visit the CDC's website.
 As we move beyond the National Fire Protection Association/National Safety Council (NFPR/NSC) October Safety Week/Month, don't let your home fire safety guard down. The holidays often accompany in increase in kitchen, cooking, fireplace and space heater use. Read more about kitchen fires, cooking and food prep safety at NFPA-Seasonal Fire Safety/Thanksgiving.
Also, while very popular, be cautious of Thanksgiving turkey deep frying hazards, and you must especially avoid frying inside structures such as garages. In fact, the NFPA strongly discourages the use of turkey fryers, period! For more safety tips and information on safe turkey frying, visit:
As a look ahead, remember that we will be moving past Thanksgiving and into the onset of inclement weather and the December holiday season. More to follow as we approach the final month of 2022!
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