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Flurona Is Not a New COVID-19 Variant

Khadija Boufous Khadija Boufous
Health
9th January 2022
Flurona Is Not a New COVID-19 Variant
WHO added it to the list of “variants under monitoring” (Getty).

The Claim

β€œFlurona” is a new COVID-19 variant that appeared recently.

Emerging story

Social media users have widely circulated posts claiming β€œFlurona” is a new COVID-19 variant that appeared recently.

Misbar’s Analysis

Misbar has investigated the claim and found it to be misleading.

The posts describing β€œFlurona” as a COVID-19 variant are inaccurate. The β€œFlurona” case is related to two separate viruses that use different receptors and mechanisms.

Many experts have confirmed to AFP and Reuters that β€œFlurona” is a co-infection of influenza and COVID-19 at the same time.

The term β€œFlurona” was first used in an article about the influenza vaccination rate on the official website of the Israeli Association of Public Health Physicians, published on Dec. 16, 2020.

According to the World Health Organization, COVID-19 and influenza are caused by different viruses, and they are also different in the way they are treated.

A supporting image within the article body

Photo description: COVID-19 and Flu are caused by different viruses.

The World Health Organization has also mentioned that the vaccines developed against COVID-19 do not protect against influenza, and similarly, the flu vaccine does not protect against COVID-19.

A supporting image within the article body

Photo description: The diseases are treated using different vaccines.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated that people can be infected with both flu and COVID-19 at the same time and have symptoms of both of them.

Many experts have confirmed that this is not the first reported case of co-infection of influenza and COVID-19. A group of researchers has published a study about four patients with co-infection diagnosed simultaneously in 2020.

A supporting image within the article body

Photo description: It is not the first time to report flu and COVID-19 co-infection cases.  

Israel has detected its first case co-infection with both seasonal flu and COVID-19 at the same time in an unvaccinated pregnant woman. Some news reports have mentioned the incident as the first case of β€œFlurona,” but others suggested the first case of co-infection was already reported in early 2020.

Misbar’s Classification

Misleading

Misbar’s Sources

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