While more people are getting vaccinated, and the cases finally seem to be going down; we are still in the middle of a pandemic, and COVID 19 will be around with us for a while.  Thus it is very important to keep our lungs as healthy as possible.  I was recently featured in an online article asking about how we can keep our lungs healthy now, to prevent serious illness should we get infected with COVID.   The most obvious is to stop smoking (and don’t start).  You also need to watch out for second hand smoke.  If you have a lung disease like asthma or COPD, make sure you are taking your prescribed medications to keep things under control.   Other things include making sure you continue healthy practices, like social distancing and handwashing so as not to get other infections, as well as getting all recommended vaccinations such as flu shot (everyone) and pneumonia shots (65 and older).

Author Matthew L. Mintz, MD, FACP