BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Why are people staying sick so long this winter?

  • Many Americans are struggling to recover from seasonal illness
  • COVID-19, the flu and RSV are to blame along with common colds
  • Social distancing may have weakened our immune systems

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

ovp test

mLife Diagnostics LLC: Oral Fluid Drug Testing

Male shot by female at Shreveport apartment

Class to create biodiverse backyard

Rules for outbursts at Caddo School Board Meeting

(NewsNation) — Many people who got sick over the holidays wonder why they still aren’t feeling back up to speed weeks later.

Many Americans are reporting feeling sick longer with things like COVID-19, the flu and RSV, with some speculating new variants may be to blame.

However, experts say that isn’t the case, with some people experiencing back-to-back infections that tax their immune systems and keep them from healing faster.

Dr. Monica Gandhi, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, says social distancing during the pandemic could also contribute.

“There is something called immune debt. What we mean by that is that we stayed away from each other for three, four years, we didn’t get exposed to RSV, to influenza as much, those rates really went down,” she said on “NewsNation Now.” “Because we weren’t training our immune systems to fight viruses over the last couple of years, we’re not able to get over it as quickly as we did.”

For those hoping to get better faster, Gandhi suggests making sure you’re up to date on all the vaccines you’re eligible for, stocking up on meds and staying home to stop your illness from spreading to others.

But just because this virus season is bad doesn’t mean next year will be the same.

“Our immune system took a break, and it kind of got lazy,” Gandhi said. “Hopefully, by next season, we’ll have a better kind of immune training to able to fight and get through colds and flus more easily.”

Health

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Mostly Cloudy

la

54°F Mostly Cloudy Feels like 54°
Wind
0 mph E
Humidity
90%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Cloudy skies. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.
52°F Cloudy skies. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
2 mph ENE
Precip
5%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Last Quarter