ATLANTA — You've probably seen a headline or two by now referencing "flurona" - and, in the age of omicron, another new emergent COVID concern is probably about the last thing you want on your plate.
The good news is it doesn't describe a new thing, necessarily, it simply describes something that has generally always been possible - that someone with COVID might also, at the same time, get infected with the flu.
The reason it's become much more of a thing this year is because flu activity has increased, following last year when there was virtually no flu season.
There are a number of possibilities for why flu is returning more in force this year, including the public being more relaxed about measures such as distancing and masking than they have been for some time.
If you're concerned about catching COVID and the flu at the same time, here's some stuff to know:
Is it being observed in Georgia?
The Georgia Department of Public Health told 11Alive that currently the state does not have data on co-infections of COVID-19 and the flu.
"However, given the surge in COVID cases and the Omicron variant and increasing influenza-like activity, it is highly likely there are co-infections in Georgians," DPH said.
Now remember, there's nothing specific to "flurona" that would make you likelier to get it. It's simply a product of having COVID and the flu at the same time. So, basically, the more flu and more COVID circulating around your area, the likelier you are to get both at the same time.
Omicron has brought COVID levels to record highs, of course, but how is the flu looking?
At least in Georgia, while there is certainly more flu around than last year, according to the weekly state influenza reports, it's still well below the norms that were observed prior to the pandemic.
The most recent DPH influenza report, which tracks up to Dec. 25, shows there have been 49 metro area hospitalizations from flu this season, six deaths associated with the flu, and five outbreaks.
That's more than the same period last year - when there had been only two deaths and 17 hospitalizations, as well as no outbreaks - but far from the last flu season we had prior to the pandemic.
The same period in 2019 had seen 15 deaths, 505 hospitalizations and 37 outbreaks, and in 2018 it was four deaths, 440 hospitalizations and 19 outbreaks.
So one promising sign if you're trying to avoid "flurona" is that there's simply not as much flu around as there might otherwise be.
An aerosol scientist at Harvard, David Edwards, put it to Bloomberg like this: “The probability of both of those things happening at the same time is sort of like the probability of getting robbed by two people on the same day. It happens, but it’s not like people should think, ‘Oh, there’s gonna be this flurona that’s going to overtake omicron.’ That’s not going to happen.”
Is 'flurona' more dangerous than having just one of them alone?
There hasn't necessarily been a lot clear research on it, but obviously it stands to reason that not having COVID or the flu at any given time is preferable to having it, so certainly you'd rather not have both.
One University of Wisconsin analysis of studies conducted from 2019-21 looking at co-infections found that at any given time, nearly 1/5th of COVID patients may have a co-infection of some sort, and that it was associated with "poor outcomes, including increased mortality."
The good news is is that vaccinations are available for protection of the worst effects of both.
Georgia DPH advises:
The best protection against COVID-19 and influenza is vaccination; both COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations can prevent serious illness, hospitalizations and death from infections. The two vaccines can be administered at the same time.
Staying home when you are sick is critically important to prevent co-infections with COVID, influenza or any infectious disease.