flurona

What does flurona mean?

Flurona is an informal term for a case in which a person is simultaneously infected with both the flu and the COVID-19 virus. Flurona refers to a double infection (or co-infection)—two simultaneous but separate infections. It is not a single disease or a new strain of COVID-19.

The word flurona is a combination of the names of the two diseases: the flu (a common shortening of influenza) and corona, a shortened form of coronavirus (specifically referring to COVID-19, which is one type of coronavirus).

Flurona is used differently than the term twindemic, which typically refers to a (potential) simultaneous large-scale outbreak of the flu and COVID-19 among a population, but not necessarily in the same people at the same time.

Awareness and use of the term flurona became more widespread, especially in the media, in January 2022 after reports of people being simultaneously infected with both the flu and COVID-19. However, instances of such double infections did not begin in January 2022—such cases and reports of them preceded the use of the term flurona.

The flu and COVID-19 are both viruses, but they are different viruses: the flu is caused by an influenza virus and COVID-19 is caused by a coronavirus. They sometimes have similar symptoms, but they affect the body in different ways.

Read more about the difference between the flu and COVID-19.