A: Nope. Nope. Nope.
Phew…some weeks the COVID-19 myths are easier to slay than others. We’ll put these to rest very briefly.
💥FLURONA:
While a person can be infected AT THE SAME TIME with both SARS-CoV-2 and influenza, this is called a co-infection, not some new mutant virus that is the combination of both the flu and coronavirus. Co-infections are not uncommon with respiratory viruses including RSV, common cold coronaviruses, rhinoviruses, etc. So while “flurona” may be new slang for having both at the same time, it’s not a scientific thing. But it’s not too late to get your flu shot if you haven’t already.
💥DELTACRON:
A scientist in Cyprus recently reported a variant in 25 patients that looked like a genetic combination of both Omicron and Delta. While it is possible for different variants to “recombine,” scientists looking at the data believe that this is a case of contamination in the lab where the sequencing took place. Evaluation is on-going, but while “deltacron” sounds like another cool transformer name it is likely NOT something you need to worry about (yet 😉)
💥DRINKING YOUR OWN PEE TO BEAT COVID-19:
No. PLEASE no. That is all.
We hope this week is a little quieter for the COVID-19 rumor mill, but probably not!
