False: Seasonal flu was renamed COVID.

By: Rashmi S
March 7 2021

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COVID-19 is not the same as the seasonal flu. COVID-19 is caused by the 2019 coronavirus, also known as SARS-CoV-2.Far-right media commentator Katie Hopkins posted on Gab, an American alt-tech social networking service known for its far-right userbase, that Auckland is facing a lockdown because of a case of seasonal flu. Hopkins also claimed on Instagram that Australia had made a "vaccine using HIV to protect people from seasonal flu." Both of these claims are entirely false. Hopkins is known to be an unreliable media commentator and journalist and has ties with far-right, extremist parties. Hopkins was fired from her previous role as a newspaper columnist and a radio host for making racist comments and has been banned permanently from Twitter for her comments on migrants. However, Hopkins' insinuation based on that data is incorrect. Several healthcare organizations, medical journals, and media outlets have already emphasized the coronavirus's severity since the pandemic began. The WHO says the virus is not SARS, MERS, or influenza. It is a unique virus with unique characteristics. COVID-19 is caused by getting infected with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, and influenza viruses cause flu. COVID-19 spreads more efficiently and has a higher death rate than the flu. Only some of the symptoms of flu and COVID-19 are similar. Both COVID-19 and influenza cause respiratory disease and spread the same way, via small droplets of fluid from the nose and mouth of sick people, but different viruses cause them. According to a study, COVID-19 is far more harmful and deadly than the seasonal flu. The death rate among COVID-19 patients was 18.5 percent, while it was 5.3 percent for those with the flu. Those with COVID were nearly five times more likely to die than flu patients, according to the study published online on December 15 in the BMJ. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.