Where does twindemic come from?
The term twindemic blends twin, here meaning 鈥渢wofold鈥� or 鈥渄ouble,鈥� and pandemic, a global outbreak of a disease, such as COVID-19. In other words, a twindemic represents “twin pandemics” of flu and COVID-19 at the same time. Twindemic may also be informed by a word closely related to pandemic, epidemic鈥攁 term for a widespread but more temporary disease outbreak that is often used in the context of seasonal influenza (flu, for short) outbreaks. A blend similar to twindemic is infodemic, which combines information and epidemic.
Learn more about infodemic in our entry for the word, and discover how a pandemic differs from an epidemic in our article 鈥溾�楨pidemic鈥� vs. 鈥楶andemic鈥� vs. 鈥楨ndemic鈥�: 黑料网 Do These Terms Mean?鈥�
Twindemic was popularized by an August 2020 article by Jan Hoffman in The New York Times. Her article discussed concerns among health and medical experts that people would not get flu shots (vaccinations) due to various fears that getting those shots would make them more vulnerable to COVID-19. Such expert concerns, raised again in 2021, involved the possibility that increased flu infections could magnify the COVID-19 pandemic and overwhelm the healthcare system鈥攔esulting in a dual crisis dubbed a twindemic.
Hoffman credited Dr. L.J. Tan of the Immunization Action Coalition as an 鈥渆arly promoter鈥� of the term twindemic. In an earlier, apparently independent coinage in July 2020, Twitter user @MaydNMerica offered twindemic as a term for two simultaneous pandemics of H1N1 and COVID-19.
H1N1 & Covid-19=twindemic
— DangerDangerDanger (@MaydNMerica)
After the mention聽in The New York Times, use of term twindemic increased in media reports about the potential crisis. In 2021, it came to be commonly used in discussion of flu season and in medical and public health messaging encouraging people to get flu shots, particularly amid the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
Twindemic is used differently than flurona, which is an informal term referring to a case of an individual person being simultaneously infected with both the flu and the COVID-19 virus.聽
Examples of twindemic
Who uses twindemic?
Prominent use of the term twindemic in media coverage helped further spread the new word into mainstream use by journalists, health experts, public figures, and in everyday discussion.
CA preparing for 'twindemic' as flu season approaches, now guarantees COVID-19 results in 24-48 hours
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7)
I hadn't heard this term but it's an important one: the "twindemic" of double-whammy flu season + is very real. One thing we can all do: get the flu shot.
— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen)
Your flu shot has never been more vital to public health. 黑料网ever junk science you鈥檝e absorbed from shady websites or celebrities pushing quack medicine, drop it. And get the facts:
Fearing a 鈥楾windemic,鈥� Health Experts Push Urgently for Flu Shots— Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane)
Happy to get my early this year. No thank you, twindemic!
— Vanessa Greenlee (@GreenleeVanessa)
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of twindemic like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of twindemic that will help our users expand their word mastery.