Q. Last weekend, I was at a party in an apartment packed with people, and two days later, symptoms of the flu came on hard and fast. Now on the fourth day, my fever, which hovered around 100.6 the whole time, has come down to 99.6. My body aches, and the coughing has made my rib cage sore.

I tested for COVID-19 and the results were negative. Yes, I’ve had every vaccination. What else could I do to ease this misery?

A. You might be suffering from influenza. Colds do not usually cause body aches. This year, the dominant influenza virus has undergone a genetic drift. The new variant is called Subclade K and flu vaccines for this year may not fully protect against it.

It is too late to take an antiviral influenza medication such as oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or baloxavir (Xofluza). These prescri

See Full Page