The simultaneous transmission of both the flu and Covid-19 to humans has brought with it a new puzzle. Experts have been worried for a while what would happen if these two viruses coexisted, that is, in the frightening “twin epidemic” situation. In addition to the exhausting impact of both diseases on the health system, it was feared that people would contract these diseases at the same time.
Recently, there have been headlines in the press called “flurona” (combination of the English words flu ‘flu’ and corona – ‘Gripona’) that seem alarming. However, it should be noted that although the news on this subject may seem frightening, it is not a new and great danger. In other words, exposure of a person to two viruses at the same time is not a situation that will cause panic as it was at the beginning.
The first thing to know is that there is no new or special disease called “Flurona”. Although it is referred to by this name, which seems singular in the press, what is actually defined is not the combination of two viruses, but the fact that both viruses infected a person at the same time. It is certain that catching both diseases at the same time is much more annoying and disturbing than catching only one. But this does not point to a dangerous mutation that sprang from nightmares.
Also, the combined infection of influenza (influenza) and SARS-CoV-2 is not a new phenomenon. There were also such cases in early 2020. While these reports seem to have increased lately, we don’t know if their numbers are actually increasing, as most places do not test for COVID and flu at the same time and do not track co-infections.
However, an important point to remember is that the number of flu cases was very low last year, thanks to much higher protection measures than previous years, such as masks and social distance. Although the number of cases this year is much higher than last year, it is said that it seems normal for the season we are in. Therefore, we can say that it is not surprising that there are more combined infections compared to the previous year.
Another important point to remember is that flu vaccines should not be skipped while vaccinating against COVID and being vaccinated against both viruses. Although vaccines are not 100 percent effective, they are a very important line of defense against the virus, and having both vaccines helps to minimize the complications that may occur in case of transmission of one of the two viruses.
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