Idioms and Vocabulary around Health and COVID

by Jennie Parker

​It’s been a rough 19 months and counting with the COVID-19 pandemic. This month, I thought I’d switch gears and provide some ready-to-use practical information on idioms and vocabulary related to health and COVID. All are words and phrases you might have heard more of over the past year and a half. If you have questions about these or other idioms related to health and COVID, please leave a comment below.

1. to be alive and kicking – something that is (still) functioning well, often something that is old. At 102, his grandfather is still alive and kicking.
2. asymptomatic – describes a person who carries a virus but does not show symptoms. Even if you’re asymptomatic, you can spread COVID-19.
3. to be back on one’s feet – to feel well again. Jane is back on her feet after that bout with the flu.
4. to feel burnt out – to be exhausted, usually due to too much work, worry, or activity. Health care workers are feeling burnt out during this second wave.
5. to get/have a clean bill of health – a medical assurance that someone is in good physical health. Johnny got a clean bill of health from the doctor.
6. to come down with (an illness) – to start feeling ill.  I feel like I’m coming down with a cold.
7. coronavirus – a family of viruses that can cause the common cold, as well as serious illnesses such as SARS and MERS. SARS CoV-2 is the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
8. endemic – describes a disease regularly found in a community, such as the flu or common cold. Some fear COVID-19 will become endemic though it might pose less danger over time.
9. epidemic – sudden increase in the number of cases of a disease.  At times, measles epidemics surface in the U.S.
10. flattening the curve – slowing the spread of a virus. Let’s wear masks to help flatten the curve.
11. incubation period – the time between when a person is infected with a virus and when symptoms develop. Since the incubation period is five days, let’s quarantine for a week.
12. isolation v. quarantine – isolation refers to keeping people with confirmed cases of a disease separate from those who are not sick, whereas quarantine refers to separating individuals who were exposed to a contagious disease. In everyday English among laypeople, however, these terms are often used interchangeably.  Her class had to quarantine because there was a confirmed case. The student with the confirmed case had to isolate.
13. pandemic – an epidemic that has spread over several countries or continents.  COVID-19 became a pandemic in March 2020.
14. to pull through – to survive a life-threatening event or illness. Despite all odds, my uncle pulled through and fully recovered from the stroke.
15. to take a turn for the worse/better – to feel worse or better, often unexpectedly. I’m happy to say that my sister took a turn for the better last night, and she will be released from the hospital soon.
16. to feel/be under the weather – to feel ill.  I can’t come into work today. I’m feeling under the weather.