Scientists have noticed a trend of people infected with COVID-19 who might have another sickness, like influenza. But as for “flurona” being a thing? Experts are dismissive.
What’s happening: Scientists are trying to stop people — like myself — from using “flurona” as a term to describe its own separate virus. It’s not.
- “The contractions like ‘flurona,’ I think they’re very misleading to people. It presents the idea two viruses have somehow merged into one, which is not at all the case,” Dr. Ellen Foxman, an immunologist at the Yale School of Medicine, told NBC News. “Somebody got a coinfection. People get coinfections all the time.”
Yes, but: People can be infected with two viruses at once, which can create its own outcomes. Experts told NBC News that three different things can happen if you get the two viruses at the same time.
- You can have little to no symptoms.
- You could be attacked by the virus at the same time, creating severe illness.
- Or, one virus could knock out the other.
More symptoms: Back in January, I spoke with Dr. Robert Quigley, senior vice president and global medical director for International SOS, a leading medical and security services company. He confirmed “flurona” is not its own disease but “but rather a coinfection with the influenza and coronavirus.”
- “Cases of coinfections have actually been documented the world over long before this term, flurona, became popular,” he told the Deseret News.
- “Both the flu and COVID-19 are respiratory diseases which can consist of symptoms including, but not limited to, a runny nose, sore throat, fever, headache and fatigue. These symptoms will differ for each individual depending on one’s health and vaccination status,” he said.
Why this matters: Flurona isn’t a thing, despite the term being used several times in this article. At the same time, you can get COVID-19 and the flu at the same time, which is worth monitoring for your own health.