A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:
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Combination COVID and flu test does not prove they are the same virus
CLAIM: An at-home rapid test that can detect both the coronavirus and influenza A and B is proof that COVID-19 and flu are the same disease.
THE FACTS: The flu and the coronavirus are distinct viruses, and the product in a photo circulating on social media tests separately for each. U.S. COVID-19 cases have again spiked in tandem with influenza. But in recent days, some social media users have pointed to a photo of an at-home test kit that can detect influenza A and B and COVID-19, incorrectly suggesting it shows that the coronavirus pandemic is just another wave of seasonal flu. But the kit in the photo tests for each virus separately, and medical experts confirmed they are distinct viruses that are detected differently. Instructions for the test show it comes with a cartridge that contains two “specimen wells,” one to check for COVID-19 and the other to check for influenza. Users are instructed to swab their nostrils, insert the swab into a test liquid, then put drops of the liquid into each well. Different lines will show up on the test strip in each well depending on what the user tests positive for. The test, sold under the name Fanttest, has been approved by the agency that regulates medical therapies for use in Australia, but it is not available in the U.S. Thomas Denny, a professor of medicine and chief operating officer of Duke University’s Human Vaccine Institute, said rapid antigen tests are developed by using a “recombinant protein” that mimics a specific virus. Before such tests are authorized for use, they are measured for sensitivity and specificity, Denny said. Specificity refers to ensuring the tests provide positive results for the given virus, and not for samples from uninfected people or those infected with a different virus. It’s common for antigen tests to check for multiple things simultaneously, said Dr. Benjamin Neuman, chief virologist at Texas A&M’s Global Health Research Complex. The proteins usually targeted by COVID-19 and flu tests, respectively, “have nothing in common,” making a two-in-one antigen test possible. In May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized a triple testing kit for COVID-19, influenza A and B and RSV, but those results must still be processed at a lab. It is possible to be infected with both COVID-19 and the flu simultaneously.