There will almost certainly be more pandemics in our future. Yet, during the coronavirus crisis, not a single major public-health official took the simple step of telling Americans what we all need to hear: robust good health—healthy immunity, low inflammation, low toxic burden, and freedom from stealth infection and chronic disease—is our best defense against infectious viral disease. The way our bodies interact with infectious disease is complicated—both a function of the "germ" and the "terrain"—the virus and the host.
In The Virus and the Host, Dr. Chlebowski succinctly describes emerging science on the virome and how toxic exposure, chronic inflammation, infections, and chronic diseases interact and predispose us to poor outcomes from acute viral infection. As we move forward from the tragedy of COVID-19, it is essential that we come together to learn from our mistakes and work hard—and work together—to prevent a similar crisis in the future. When the next pandemic hits, we need to be better prepared. Now is the time to do something, and it is the best investment we can make so that when the next one hits we can keep our loved ones and ourselves safe and healthy.