The PCR Test Does Not Show That Covid-19 is Just a “Bad Flu”!
The narrative in the post we are reviewing is a fictional story, a fabrication that equates Covid-19 and the flu, as if it were the same disease, although it has been repeatedly explained that Covid-19 has a higher mortality rate than the flu and there is no specific cure for it
We are reviewing a Facebook post about Covid-19, which is a special disease caused by the coronavirus, but in this post it is identified with the flu.
The elderly are afraid of Covid-19, and then catch a bad flu. The fake PCR test tells them they are positive of Covid-19, and they go to the hospital feeling horrible and in a panic. They are put on a respirator with high parameters, they are given the wrong medicine and they are fighting for their lives. They die and are recorded to have died of Covid-19. This is how everywhere, it is said in the post.
The PCR test only detects coronavirus, not the flu. Covid-19 and flu are two different things.
According to the Center for Public Health – Skopje, influenza (the flu) is a contagious respiratory disease caused by the influenza virus.
It can cause mild to severe illness and can sometimes lead to death. The flu is different from the common cold. The flu usually comes on suddenly. People with the flu often experience some or all of these symptoms: fever, cough, sore throat, stuffy nose, body and muscle aches, headaches and fatigue, and in some cases diarrhea (in children).
Most people who get the flu will recover in a few days or up to two weeks, but some people will develop complications (such as pneumonia) as a result of the flu, some of which can be life-threatening and result in death, – posted on the website of the Center for Public Health – Skopje.
The difference between Covid-19 and the flu, according to the Mayo Clinic, is that both conditions are caused by different viruses. Covid-19 is caused by the coronavirus, and influenza by the influenza A or B viruses.
As explained on the website of the Center for Public Health – Skopje, the method according to which the presence of the virus in the patient sample is proven takes place in 2 steps.
The first step is the automatic extraction of RNA with the help of an automatic virus extractor on the principle of a modern method with magnetic particles, which enables the extraction of high quality viral nucleic acid.
The second step is the multiplication of the isolated viral RNA and the specific detection of the virus in the sample according to the presence of Sars-Cov-2-specific target genes (N and E genes). These genes are genes for structural proteins that are part of the structure of the virus and are strictly specific only to the Sars-Cov-2 virus of the SARS family of viruses. This method allows the virus to be detected with high sensitivity and detects the virus in a patient when present with a minimum of 10 copies of the gene.
The above paragraph, explained in simple terminology, actually means that the PCR test exclusively detects the coronavirus according to only Sars-Cov-2-specific genes – N and E. These genes are not present in the flu. They are only present in the construction of the Sars Cov 2 virus. Thus, it is not possible to detect influenza on a PCR panel for coronavirus detection. There are special panels that detect both covid and flu at the same time, but they are different and specific and available only in some clinics. However, even with such tests, it is differentiated whether it is covid or flu, and covid is not identified as if it were the flu or the flu as if it were covid!
Furthermore, in the post we are reviewing, it is claimed that in the hospital, patients are placed on a ventilator with high parameters, they are given the wrong medicine and they fight for their lives, they die and they are registered as if they died of Covid-19.
But this insinuation is not supported by proof. In fact, in this country, the respirator is the last resource used in severe patients. And that the wrong medicines are given is a general claim and it is not specified which drugs they are talking about. After all, this is a fictional story, but it is presented as “general truth”. From the Macedonian hospitals and from home conditions, 171,871 people recovered. It cannot be generalized that they were given the wrong medicines without providing evidence of it. In addition, mechanical ventilation is used in the country on a small number of patients with the extremely severe clinical picture.
The narrative in the post we are reviewing is a fictional story, a fabrication that equates Covid-19 and flu, as if it were the same disease, although it has been repeatedly explained that covid has a higher mortality rate than the flu and there is no specific cure for it. The post also dangerously advocates not going to the hospital because there “they will kill you with the wrong medicine”, which is a dangerous tactic during a pandemic. According to the treatment protocols, every patient in the country who suffers from covid receives individual therapy according to their comorbidities, because not every medicine used for covid is appropriate for comorbidities.
Due to all the above facts, we assess the claim in the post that a fake PCR test shows a “bad flu” and not Covid-19 as false.
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This article has been produced as part of the Rapid Response to Vaccine Disinformation Project, implemented by the Metamorphosis Foundation. It was originally published in Truthmeter, and is made possible by the support of (BTD – The Balkan Trust for Democracy, a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States). The content of this article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Metamorphosis, BTD or their partners.
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