The term "flurona" started a headline out of Israel and has been now been used across the globe.
Some misunderstood the term to mean a case of the flu and COVID-19 combining.
Dr. Jonathan Grein, an infectious disease doctor and director of Hospital Epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A., said that's not what's happening. He said the medical diagnosis is actually a co-infection.
At this point, Dr. Grein says co-infections of flu and COVID aren’t something to panic about.
"There does not seem to be a major signal that infection with both makes you significantly more sick, but we just don't know, and it's too early to know," Grein says. "Common sense would dictate being infected with two things is certainly not good."
The common symptoms to look for include dry cough, fever, sore throat, head or body ache, and exhaustion.
Grein says his hospital has only seen a few people with flu and COVID at the same time. Just like co-infections elsewhere in the country, all the cases were mild and in younger patients, he said.
Experts say that’s because the younger people have less immunity because they haven’t been exposed to as many viruses.
Unvaccinated people who are very social, don’t mask are more likely to get a flu and COVID co-infection. Elderly and immunocompromised people are more prone to having both illnesses turn severe.
"There is a real concern that we will see more influenza that circulates along with COVID-19," Grein says. " And, I think there's a real concern that that could really increase the number of people that get severely ill or have to come to the hospital."
Medical experts encourage people to get vaccinated against the flu and COVID-19 to protect themself from the viruses.
This story was originally reported by Lindsey Theis on Newsy.com.
