Viral infections can have a wide range of impacts on the immune system over time, depending on the virus, the duration of infection (acute vs. chronic), host factors (like age and immune status), and whether the virus is cleared or persists in the body. For many people, these infections lead to chronic autoimmune diseases. Those who already face autoimmune diseases or chronic illness, have a higher chance of making things worse when infected with a virus. Even the common cold is able to do serious damage to people whose immune systems are already compromised. 

Understanding the impacts of viral infection on the community is vital, as we know autoimmune and chronic illness conditions have been worsening and increasing overtime in our population. While we know that energy, stress, diet, and lots of things have an impact on someone's health, most of those things are out of our control. Those of us who have to work to live, do not always get to decide when to put less energy into work and more energy into our health. Disabililty and Chronic illness is apart of every person's life, whether or not they have been directly effected by it yet.