Test Your Immunity Smarts

BY NAOMI BARR

IT’S YEAR THREE of Covid, monkeypox is in the headlines, and we’re heading into cold and flu season. Though you may be so over the steady stream of (literally) viral news, you don’t want to let your guard down now. Rest up! And study up! This quiz could help you stay well this winter.

True or false: Flu rates have been down since the start of Covid, so skipping your flu shot is OK. False. While the overall number of flu cases has been unusually low since the beginning of the pandemic (thanks to all the mask wearing, social distancing, and handwashing we’ve been doing), infectious disease experts are fairly certain that won’t be the case this year. Why? Two reasons! First, with pandemic-level protocols no longer in place at most offices, schools, and other areas, there’s more opportunity for the flu to spread. Second, because flu numbers have been so low for the past couple of years, many people’s natural immunity may be less robust, leaving them more vulnerable to infection. Along with vaccinations, “repeated exposure to the flu over time can help maintain and broaden your immunity to the viruses, so when there’s very little flu circulating, we worry about slipping protections,” says Olivia Kates, MD, an infectious diseases physician and assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. “This is especially concerning for young children, some of whom may not have ever been exposed to a flu virus in their lives.”

Experts try to forecast the severity of our upcoming season by looking at data from the southern hemisphere, where flu season typically runs from April to October. And our southern neighbors just came through a bad one, with Australia reporting some of their worst numbers in several years. “That’s making us worry that our season will mirror theirs,” Kates says. Scientists at the CDC are concerned as well, but caution that the behavior of flu viruses is very difficult to predict. “While we do expect influenza activity to return to something similar to what we saw before the pandemic, we can’t say how severe the season will be and how long it will last,” says Lynnette Brammer, MPH, lead of the CDC’s Domestic Influenza Surveillance Team. One thing is for sure: Getting the flu vaccine is as important as ever to help protect you (and anyone else in your household) from contracting the flu or, at the very least, experiencing severe complications from the disease.

True or false: If you don’t get a flu shot by October, it’s too late.

False. October is the ideal time because it takes about two weeks for antibodies to develop after inoculation, and you want to get vaccinated before the flu begins to spread widely—typically around November. Last year, however, flu season was a little wonky, likely due to the pandemic. The infection rate began to increase in November and remained elevated all the way to mid-June, with the first peak in late December and the second in late spring—one of the latest on record, according to the CDC. But even in typical years, flu season can last until May, so “vaccines administered in November, December, or later, even as influenza activity has already begun, may still be beneficial,” Brammer says. Your shot should last the length of one flu season (about six months).

True or false: “Flurona” is a real thing.

True. Though it may sound like an Outbreak-esque virus, flurona is simply the term used when an unlucky someone contracts the flu and Covid at the same time. The good news: At least it’s not some kind of superbug. “These two viruses are not compatible enough to combine in the human body,” Kates says. That said, flurona does need to be taken seriously. If, as some experts expect, the flu returns to prepandemic levels and Covid infections rise, “we’re likely going to see more cases than last year of people getting infected with both at the same time—and that’s worrisome because these are two serious respiratory viruses to fight off,” Kates says. While there’s currently no indication that a coinfection is more likely to result in hospitalization, she says, it could mean more severe symptoms.

You can help fend off flurona by sticking to the tried-and-true virus protocols: Keep up with your flu vaccine and coronavirus boosters, wash and sanitize your hands regularly, and do your best to avoid people who are sick. Because many flu and Covid symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, and fatigue) can overlap, it may be hard to tell the difference between the two, Kates says. If you take a home Covid test and it comes back positive, talk to your doctor, who may prescribe the antiviral drug Paxlovid or Lagevrio, which can reduce symptoms and shorten the duration of your illness. Your doctor can then decide if you should get a flu test as well. “If that comes back positive, your doctor may also prescribe you an antiviral specific for the flu, like Tamiflu,” Kates adds.

True or false: Using a home humidifier can help keep you from getting sick.

Jury’s out. Studies have shown that the Covid and flu viruses are better able to travel from person to person in dry, cold air and are more likely to fall to the ground (and out of harm’s way) in humid conditions. But experts we spoke to were divided on humidifiers.

“They can be good because they help us maintain healthy, moist nasal mucosa, which can protect against

Even when all your garbage is all gross. Glad® with CloroxTM bags eliminate food and bacterial odors to keep all your trash all under control.

This product is bleach-free.

Feed Your Body And Brain

Not even chicken soup can magically cure the flu. But getting the right amount of nutrients from food can help prime the body to fight infection and disease as well as—here’s a brilliant bonus—support a healthy brain. To consume a variety, eat produce in a range of colors (red apples and pomegranates, orange carrots and squash, yellow peppers, leafy greens). Take care to get enough of the following vitamins, which you may lack because they’re not in many of the foods we commonly eat, says Niket Sonpal, MD, assistant professor at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine.

VITAMIN B12 helps make red blood cells that give your immune system the oxygen it needs to attack invaders. It also helps strengthen the protective layer around your neurons, which pass messages to the brain and enable it to do just about everything— like read this article. Where to find it: Fish, meat, poultry, egg yolks, and dairy. It’s also often added to cereals.

VITAMIN D spurs your immune cells into action. Emerging research shows it also affects mood and cognition. People with vitamin D deficiencies often say they experience brain fog, Sonpal says. Where to find it: Fatty fish, like salmon; egg yolks; nutritional shakes; and the sun, which prompts your body to make some (just don’t forget SPF).

VITAMIN E is an antioxidant that helps neutralize the molecules known as free radicals, Sonpal says, pesky little punks that can put stress on your brain and immune system. Where to find it: Seeds, nuts, and even nut butters. Yay for PB&J! —Melissa Matthews infections,” Kates says. “But if someone in your household has Covid or the flu, your risk of infection through contact is likely to outweigh any small benefit you might get from humidified air.”

If you invest in a humidifier, be diligent about following the cleaning and care instructions, she adds. “If a humidifier isn’t taken care of properly, potentially harmful bacteria and molds can thrive in the moist, humid environment—which is why I discourage my patients with very weak immune systems from using one.”

True or false: Intermittent fasting may help support immunity.

True. Surprisingly, scientists who study longevity have discovered that fasting can help improve your immune system response. Most studies have looked at how intermittent fasting may lower the risk of conditions like cardiovascular disease and cancer (ultimately helping you live a longer, healthier life). But Valter Longo, PhD, director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California and author of The Longevity Diet, believes fasting can give you an edge in the fight against viruses like the flu and Covid. “Because obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and older age are all risk factors for significant Covid and flu complications, we think addressing these issues may be the most powerful way to protect against them,” Longo says.

He recommends skipping food for 12 hours a day, then eating a highlegume, whole-grain, mostly plantbased diet with a little fish and minimal dairy during the next 12-hour window (for example, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.). In clinical trials, subjects who followed this plan (along with doing “mini fasts,” in which they consumed 800 to 1,100 calories a day for five days every three to six months) shed body fat and showed significant improvements in risk factors linked to heart disease and diabetes. That might mean better health outcomes during cold and flu season. Of course, check with your doctor before you try it. It’s still unclear why fasting works (science is complicated!), but it’s possible that fasting “resets” the immune system, ultimately clearing out older white blood cells and replenishing them with newer, more effective infection-fighting cells.

True or false: We don’t actually need to worry about monkeypox. False. Though the rate of new monkeypox cases has started to slow due to a targeted vaccination program for those at high risk, we’re not out of the woods. “It’s very reassuring to see rates declining, but I’m cautiously optimistic,” Kates says. “Don’t forget, we had several periods during the past two years where we saw Covid cases declining, only to have more surges.”

While the vast majority (almost 95 percent) of people getting monkeypox in the United States are men who have sex with men, other individuals have also become infected. “Anyone and everyone, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, could be at risk if they’ve had skin-to-skin contact with someone who has the disease, or just been exposed to towels, sheets, or other personal items that the person has used and contaminated with the virus,” says Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD, the American Medical Association’s board chair and liaison to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. If someone you know has flulike symptoms, such as fever, chills, and body aches, or an unexplained rash that looks like a blister or pimple (it could be just one or two bumps), have them consult with a physician immediately, make sure you avoid physical contact with them, and wear gloves and a mask if you clean their clothes or bed linens.

With any virus, the best defense is a good offense, Kates says. “The problem of communicable diseases will always be with us, and so all of us need to do as much as we can to be prepared.”