Flyby’s Guide to Surviving Another Mumps Outbreak

The telltale email from good old Dr. Paul J. Barreira, MD could have only meant one thing: mumps are back. Cue flashbacks to this past spring, when HUHS was sending out emails almost every day about the mumps situation when realistically they should have just told students not to go to the PSK.

With reading period and exams around the corner and Harvard-Yale having just concluded, it’s important to avoid getting the mumps now as much as Mankiw avoids actually giving Ec10 lectures on a regular basis. We at Flyby are committed to ensuring good health for our readers, and want to make sure that Harvard students know exactly what to do to not get the mumps. So we took it upon ourselves to summarize and add to Dr. Barriera’s email in a more student-friendly way (because hey, not everybody is a premed. Thanks, LS1b).

Cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze. Thanks, HUHS. Sometimes I feel like this should be a no-brainer, but then I watch people sneezing and generally being gross on the third floor of Lamont. Please, use tissues or sneeze into your elbow.

Wash your hands frequently. Don’t be that person who just walks out of the bathroom without washing your hands. We all see you.

Do not share glasses, eating utensils, water bottles, cigarettes, lipstick/makeup, etc. Re: taking a swig out a cute guy’s red solo cup might not be the best idea.

Avoid dense social and public spaces. I’m serious. Don’t go to the PSK , or any final club for that matter, this weekend, next weekend, or ever again. Heck, maybe all of you who sold your Harvard-Yale tickets for $80 OBO had the right idea after all.

Stay healthy, Harvard.