The "double epidemic", or "Twindemic", as the British Ministry of Health called the phenomenon, threatens to cause tens of thousands of deaths this winter.
The experts call on the public to also get vaccinated against the flu virus, while warning that the H3N2 type variant is already within the kingdom's borders.
British citizens stand in line for corona tests, photo: AFP
Corona tests in China // Credit: Reuters
"With lower levels of natural immunity to the flu, less exposure in the last three winters, as well as an increase in corona with variants that are able to evade the immune response - there is a real danger."
Dr. Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Advisor to the UK Health Service (UKHSA), explained.
"If you're elderly or vulnerable, you're at higher risk, so getting a flu shot is something that can save lives," she added.
The experts fear a return to the scenario of 2017-2018 in which about 40 thousand flu patients were admitted to the hospitals, of which about half, about 20 thousand people, died from the disease.
Steve Russell, director of vaccinations in the UK's health system warned that "this coming winter may be the first in which we see the effects of the combined epidemic of corona and flu in a wide distribution".
Since the beginning of the corona epidemic, about 207 thousand people have died in the UK.
Candles in memory of the victims of the epidemic, photo: IPA
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