A Facebook user erroneously posted on September 15 that Americans should not receive the flu shot that has been recommended to combat flu this season because it contains an untested COVID-19 strain. According to the poster, Madyson Marquette, her son’s doctor reportedly told her that this year’s flu vaccine contains a low strain of COVID-19 and that the CDC is pushing doctors to administer the “untested COVID flu shot” on Americans.
Although the Facebook post generated more than 7,000 shares, Marquette failed to respond to media queries to elaborate on her claims or provide additional information about the exchange between her and her son’s pediatrician and the doctor’s name. However, health professionals and agencies have debunked the woman’s claims as false on several counts.
Medical experts have established that flu is way different from SARS-CoV-2 and they are caused by different viruses. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) and scientific studies report that SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19 is one of the groups of coronaviruses that cause upper respiratory illnesses and that COVID-19 is way deadlier than flu.
Experts have therefore stated that the updated flu to be administered to Americans this year does not contain coronavirus and is not capable of protecting against COVID-19 or increasing/decreasing the chances of contracting it. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which approves flu vaccines found no evidence that any coronavirus strains are contained in this year’s flu vaccines; and this means every flu vaccine is fully tested before they are approved and offered to the American public.
It is also common knowledge that no COVID-19 vaccines are ready for administering to the American people at the moment, and no health agency is pushing any untested coronavirus vaccines to the people since there is no potential COVID-19 vaccine that has made it past the clinical trial stage and no one can say when it will be fully ready to be available to Americans.
The Trump administration earlier promised that the COVID-19 vaccine will be available for wide use before the November presidential election, but the government has revealed on Friday that this year is no longer feasible and that the vaccine will be ready by April 2021. So there is no truth in Marquette’s son’s doctor’s alleged assertion that the CDC is pushing the medical community to push an “untested COVID flu shot” on Americans – that is if it can even be proven that any doctor said that.
Source: usatoday.com