Corona-zona

  You can get COVID-19 and the seasonal flu at the same time. This has been known for some time. In fact, my brother-in-law got the combo back in 2020. But suddenly it's all over the news. Scientific American called it "a great example of how misinformation blooms." They point out that coverage exploded when an Israeli newspaper gave it a catchy name: Flurona.  I don't know, I rather like Fluvid. Though I must admit, Flurona does potentiate low-effort parody covers of My Sharona by The Knack: When you gonna give it to me, give it to me? It is just a matter of time Flurona? Is it just destiny, destiny? Or is it just a game in my mind, Flurona? In any case, the media is, predictably, now freaking out about it. The Daily Beast called it  a "a new nightmare to keep us awake at night." Is it? There is no evidence that it is. Sources I've read say dual infection is possible because both are respiratory diseases and both are transmitted via inhalation of ae...

I recently heard an  interview with Dr. Emily Landon of the University of Chicago medical school. She was clearly astonished at the low rate of flu this year. "At the University of Chicago, we just registered our third flu case of the season. Usually at this time of year we have over a hundred each week." Great, I thought. At least one good outcome of the pandemic is that all the mitigation measures we've taken for the coronavirus are knocking down the flu as well.  But to prove that there is nothing whatsoever good about the pandemic, public health people are saying there is a problem. Because so few people got the normal illnesses like the flu this year, more people will be susceptible in coming years. This could lead to large outbreaks and also off-season outbreaks, according to a study by Princeton epidemiologists, just as soon as we back off of coronavirus mitigation measures.    It seems this is already happening in Australia with a common respiratory virus c...