What is Florona?

No, florona (or flurona) is not a new virus.

Multiple agencies report that the first documented case of what is now known as "florona" occurred in a pregnant woman in Israel.  The woman, according to multiple reports, was a patient at Israel's Rabin Medical Center.  Indications are, however, that the woman was not vaccinated against COVID and was infected with both illnesses at the same time.

That double infection, a combination of two illnesses - the flu and coronavirus - is considered "florona."  When an individual is infected with both at the same time the illness could be intensified.  Medical experts are expecting more cases to emerge as variants of COVID become more prevalent and cases of the flu fluctuate in intensity.

Will other new "diseases" be named as a result of more combinations - i.e. can an individual get chickenpox and COVID at the same time?  Medically it is both possible and probable.  Will that be called "copox" or "poxrona?"

Cases of flu are on the rise.  The New York State Department of Health reports that flu activity is categorized as "geographically widespread" for at least the last five consecutive weeks.  The latest data available is for the week ending December 18, 2021.  That data shows an 89% increase in flu cases over the previous week.  The Central New York counties of Fulton and Chenango are among those leading the state in flu cases.

On January 4, 2021, approximately 77,859 New Yorkers tested positive for COVID, according to the New York State Department of Health.  With the increase in both comes a concomitant increase in the chance of individuals experiencing a combination of both.