Just When You Thought You Could Unmask Soon, Here Comes ‘Flurona’

Israel has risen to the top of the list of places we look to for information about the COVID-19 pandemic, and now the country has announced a hot, new trend: meet the “flurona” infection.

As the name implies, flurona is a double infection of both influenza and coronavirus. Yediot, Israel’s largest daily paper, reported on Thursday that a new mother had tested positive for both the seasonal flu and COVID. The woman was unvaccinated against either virus, was said to be feeling well, and was discharged later that day from Rabin Medical Center, where she had gone to give birth.

Prof. Arnon Vizhnitser, director of Rabin’s Gynecology Department, said the patient didn’t exhibit any severe symptoms. “She was diagnosed with the flu and coronavirus as soon as she arrived,” he reported. “Both tests came back positive, even after we checked again.” Vizhnitser added, “The disease is the same disease; they’re viral and cause difficulty breathing since both attack the upper respiratory tract.”

“Last year, we did not witness flu cases among pregnant or birthing women,” commented Vizhnitser. “Today, we are seeing cases of both coronavirus and the flu that are starting to rear their head.”

In fact, flu cases were rare last year. In April of 2021, Scientific American reported that the 2020–2021 season had seen historically low positivity rates for influenza. – READ MORE