Even though it’s warm out, continue washing your hands frequently; keep in touch with your doctor’s office about vaccine availability.

Stay active this summer to bolster your immune system for the flu in the fall.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—In the past few weeks, swine flu frenzy has died down a bit in the U.S., as it’s become apparent the novel H1N1 virus is not as virulent as it could have been. Still, infectious disease experts say it’s no time to let your guard down. The flu is still circulating well past the normal flu season die-down point of late March, and its potential to mix and mutate with the seasonal flu now entering the Southern Hemisphere could leave us dealing with a more dangerous flu in October. On Friday, flu experts from around the world met with the World Health Organization (WHO) to discuss developing a severity index for disease pandemics, including H1N1. The current WHO pandemic scale is based on how widespread a new virus becomes, but not how many people it sickens or kills.

THE DETAILS: The novel H1N1 virus, commonly referred to as swine flu, is still popping up around the country. Although flu outbreaks usually dies down in late March, H1N1 and even some variants of seasonal flu are still circulating in North America. “We’re not out of the current season yet, which is very unusual,” says Mary Klotman, MD, chief of the division of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. “There’s continuing to be spread of influenza. We don’t think it’s going to go away, and how much it will come back is hard to predict.” H1N1 will also continue to spread in the Southern Hemisphere, where the flu season is just kicking off now. There, the novel virus will could mix with the regular flu.

WHAT IT MEANS: Enjoy your summer, but don’t let your guard down, either. Here’s what you can do to protect yourself from what remains of the recent outbreak, and prepare for the next wave:

• Stick with the hand-washing program. Although many of us will be running around in bikinis and tank tops during this time, the warm weather isn’t an excuse to abandon tried-and-true flu-prevention methods, such as washing your hands frequently, says Dr. Klotman. The virus is still circulating, and keeping up with a hand-washing habit will better prep you for the fall return of flu season. “So far, there’s nothing to suggest [H1N1] is worse than seasonal flu, but it does appear it transmits easily and a lot of people don’t have a lot of immunity,” Dr. Klotman says. “You may be susceptible. You may get the flu. The good news is the vast majority of people handle it very well.”

• Plan to get vaccinated. Viruses are very unpredictable, but even if swine flu does mix and mutate in the Southern Hemisphere this summer, the swine flu vaccine currently being developed (which should be available by October) should still offer some protection, says Dr. Klotman. There are still some questions as to whether the H1N1 component will be included in the regular seasonal flu vaccine, but it’s more likely it will be its own shot, and Dr. Klotman recommends you get both. “Everybody has to get seasonal flu vaccination. The underlying message is everybody should get whatever vaccines are available,” Dr. Klotman says. “Some of seasonal viruses, we have reason to believe, are potentially more virulent than swine flu.”

• Don’t be afraid to use a sick day. If you do become mildly sick this summer with flulike symptoms, including body aches, headaches, sore throat, and fever, don’t go to work or the doctor’s office and spread the illness. Instead, call your doctor and describe your symptoms. From that point, they’ll decide what treatment, if any, is best for you. They may tell you to simply park it for five days to let the virus run its course.

• Boost your immunity. Start next flu season with an extra-strong immune system. Short bouts of exercise during the day have been found to improve measures of immune system strength. Oats and barley, garlic, fish, and tea have all been found to boost immunity. Also check out Prevention magazine’s weekly immune-boosting program.