A new CDC report finds that 25% of people don’t remember to wash their hands at important times, such as after blowing their nose.
More of us are washing our hands amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but one in four doesn’t lather up after blowing their nose, according to a new report.
The report, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), examined hand washing behaviors before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two surveys, one administered in October 2019, and the second in June 2020, asked participants about situations where they usually remember to wash their hands, such as after using the bathroom at home; after using the bathroom in public; after coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose; before eating at home; before eating at a restaurant and before preparing food at home.
In both 2019 and 2020, more than 85% of participants said they remembered to wash their hands after using the bathroom at home, and 95% said they remembered to wash their hands after using a public restroom. Similarly, in both years, about 86% of participants said they remembered to wash their hands before preparing food.
In 2019, about 63% said they washed hands before eating at home, 55% said they washed their hands before eating at a restaurant and 53% said they washed their hands after coughing, sneezing or blowing their nose. During the pandemic, more people reported washing their hands in these situations, but the numbers were still not ideal — 74% said they remembered to wash their hands before eating at home, 70% said they remembered to wash their hands before eating at a restaurant and 71% said they remembered to wash their hands after coughing, sneezing or blowing their nose.
For example, in 2020, 65% of men reported washing their hands after coughing, sneezing or blowing their nose; compared with 76% of women.
More work is needed to identify ways to get people to wash their hands, not only to prevent COVID-19, but also to reduce transmission of other diseases that spread via coughs, sneezes or poop.