Our collective experience and conversations about the global pandemic elevated social knowledge about the immune system to a level never seen before. Whether talking about protecting the elderly or immunocompromised or the effectiveness of vaccines, we are all now much more aware of the importance of having a healthy immune system to protect us from myriad threats. For many, this experience has highlighted that a functional immune system is important not just for protecting us as individuals, but also for protecting the entire population.
Unfortunately, some chemicals can interfere with the immune system – including PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as toxic “forever chemicals”). PFAS are a class of thousands of man-made chemicals that pose numerous health and environmental concerns.
In 2016 the National Toxicology Program concluded that PFOA and PFOS -…