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Ill woman coughing covering mouth with the hand, sitting on couch.

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As if global citizens haven’t already experienced the worse of the novel coronavirus and then Delta and Omicron variants, the first documented co-infection of COVID-19 and influenza has emerged in Israel. This two-headed monster of a virus was detected in an unvaccinated woman who gave birth in Petah Tikva city on Dec. 23, CNBCTV reported. The rare viral coupling has been obviously dubbed “flurona,” a portmanteau of sorts and has the people talking:

None of this is to be taken lightly. The afflicted woman showed mild symptoms upon her arrival at Beilinson Hospital and tested positive for both flu and COVID-19 infections. 

“Both tests came back positive, even after we checked again,” Arnon Vizhnitser, director of the gynaecology department, told Hamdia

“The disease is the same disease: they’re viral and cause difficulty breathing since both attack the upper respiratory tract.” The medical professional added.

Though the patient at hand will be released from the hospital in the next coming days, a pressing concern is whether or not the flurona will be more devastating to others who are infected and to the population at large.

The Omicron variant ran down on people over the holidays, dampening the festive season and impacting the return to in-person schooling, MADAMENOIRE reported. The surge in Omicron infection has surpassed the rate of Delta cases. As of two weeks ago. Omicron accounts for “73 percent of new infections” in the United States, according to APNews. On Jan. 1, USAToday reported that the United States had seen over “2 million coronavirus cases” in a single week. 

Israel has greenlit a fourth vaccine to serve as an additional booster shot for its immunocompromised citizens, CNBCTV noted. MADAMENOIRE also reported that on Jan. 3, the FDA approved Pfizer’s booster dose for children aged 12-15

With the concern of a twindemic on the rise that may further overwhelm medical facilities and providers, health experts are encouraging individuals to not only receive COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters, but to get flu shots as well

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