It May Not Be COVID, But It Can Feel Like The ‘Worst Cold Ever’: Here’s What To Know

A case of the common cold that has been described by many as the “worst cold ever” has been circulating, and health officials are concerned that the U.S. and other parts of the world are heading for a “twindemic” of both the flu and the coronavirus.

U.K. residents are already complaining about having the “worst cold ever” with symptoms that are similar to COVID, but they have tested negative for the virus, according to social media posts. Many are also vaccinated and do not have breakthrough infections either, their posts indicate.

But because the symptoms of this super cold, which include fever, cough, and chills, are so close in nature to that of the coronavirus, many people suspect they have contracted COVID.

Those who have contracted what they believe to be the “worst cold ever” are urged to take a PCR COVID test to rule out infection from the virus. They should also watch for possible symptoms of loss of taste or smell that sets COVID apart from the common cold.

Doctors said they have seen a rise in infections recently and are worried that the flu season will come back with a vengeance this year, the Washington Post reported. They are urging people to get their flu shots due to the lack of immunity that was built up in 2020 based on so few infections during that year, the news outlet said.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said it is “doubly important this year” to get the flu shot to not only protect yourself but also ease the strain on hospitals. The CDC said it is safe to get the COVID vaccine and the flu shot at the same time.

Health officials are also concerned that as more venues open up, the virus will have the ability to spread this fall, causing both COVID and the flu to surge in the next few months, according to the Post.

“We are mixing in a way that we haven't been mixing over the past 18 months,” Dr. Philippa Kaye, a general practitioner based in London, told the BBC. “During those first lockdowns, we saw numbers of other [non-COVID] infections fall. We think that that was primarily due to the restrictions on meeting up.”