Once again, it’s fall respiratory virus infection season. Every day for the last few weeks, my patients ask about vaccination. Should I get the new COVID vaccine? These are the four main questions they want to know more about: They also want to know my personal experience. So, let’s start there. At the beginning of
Though we’re in the waning stage of more than three years into the pandemic, “long COVID” retains the stigma of a mystery disease. But is it a mystery? Or an ambiguous, complex syndrome not uncommon in other post-infectious conditions? Long COVID is not an unexpected mystery disease—many other infections cause similar symptoms. Don’t be misinformed
Avoidance is your best defense against viral infection. If you’re not exposed, you won’t get sick. The second-best defense is resilient viral immunity. I’ll give you a tool to evaluate your viral immunity in the article. Winter Is Peak Season for Respiratory Viral Infections It’s late December 2022. In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter cold
The flu season is just starting, and with COVID and seasonal viruses present, already there’s an increase in influenza activity. The dominant strain this year is influenza A, subtype H3N2v. It’s a variant (denoted by the small “v”) of the swine flu pandemic strain H1N1 of 2009. And it has the potential to cause severe
I wish the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic were over. But it’s not. In fact, we’re still in the OMICRON wave that started with BA.1 in late 2021 and mutated to BA.5 by summer 2022. Nor have we haven’t reached herd immunity or vaccinated our way out of this pandemic. We’re at an elevated plateau, but no longer
Stay vigilant because of combination infection by the flu and SARS-CoV-2, which health experts call Flurona. It’s hard enough keeping up with the latest pandemic twists and turns. We also must deal with seasonal influenza outbreaks. I’ve written extensively on surviving pandemic influenza in my books Viral Immunity and Beating the Flu. Many immune-supportive protocols
According to international influenza tracking sites, like FluNet and FluView, this year’s flu season infection rate is starting slow. Check your state’s health department website for local outbreaks. For example, in Florida, it’s FLU REVIEW. However, that could change. Typically, January through March are peak influenza season, so keep up your guard in the months
COVID vs Flu: catching a cold and getting the Flu are routine seasonal illnesses. We accept the inconvenience. Each fall through winter, 64 percent of those 18-30 years catch a cold. Adults in the U.S. get two to four colds every year. Children fare worse, getting up to eight colds each season. And every year,
There’s no doubt that low vitamin D level —just like low vitamin B12— is underappreciated by doctors, especially for infectious disease prevention, and goes underdiagnosed and inadequately treated. Optimal vitamin D is particularly important during the pandemic. Links between a low vitamin D level and COVID-19 include worse outcomes for acute lung infection and the
Every day since February 2020, I’ve received similar questions from patients and readers that go like this: Is COVID-19 as severe as the CDC says? Are there ways to prevent getting sick? Can I get the flu and COVID-19 at the same time? What should I do to stay out of the hospital? Will I