In the middle of January, 2019, the world was taken by storm by a Twitter post from the account @_michaelbelevitz_ showing an apparently doctored photo of a can of Pfizer’s Influenza vaccine, Tamiflu, alongside a box of the drug Viagra.
The caption on the photo read “I got [the] flu shot and got [the] Viagra pill to match. The best vacation ever! #FluViagra #FluShot #SafariNightclub.”
The image quickly made its rounds on social media, with many people commenting that they too had received both the vaccine and the medication, and some even went as far to say that they were “lifesavers” because of the pandemic.
Was this just a funny mistake, or is there more to this meme than meets the eye? We took a closer look.
Flu Vaccine And Viagra
The 2019-nCoV, also known as the “Coronavirus”, was first discovered in the United States and is being treated as a global pandemic. As of March 4, 2020, there were more than 5.9 million cases reported worldwide and more than 270,000 deaths associated with the virus.
Flu, or the influenza virus, is a common cause of respiratory infection and is highly contagious. Each year, a new influenza vaccine is developed to coincide with the epidemic strain and to provide protection against the disease. The influenza virus usually affects people of all ages, but can be dangerous to those with certain medical conditions.
The most common side effects of the flu vaccine are pain at the injection site, fever, and tiredness. More severe side effects include headache, diarrhea, and rashes. These are generally temporary and mild, but they can be dangerous in certain circumstances. A life-threatening side effect is anaphylaxis, which affects approximately 0.5% of people who receive the flu vaccine. Anaphylaxis can be caused by certain food or medication allergies, and in some cases it can be life-threatening. People with severe allergies to eggs, peanuts, or dairy products should not receive the flu vaccine. In the event of anaphylaxis, emergency treatment includes administering epinephrine (adrenaline) and avoiding the causative agent.
An example of anaphylaxis caused by the flu vaccine is provided in a case report published in the journal Vaccine. In this case, a 38-year-old woman experienced anaphylaxis after receiving the shot, and in another case reported in the same journal, a 56-year-old woman developed anaphylaxis after receiving a single dose of the flu vaccine. Both of these cases involved women who had a history of allergic reaction to eggs and dairy products, which are common antigens in flu vaccines. This also means that they are at a greater risk of anaphylaxis due to exposure to eggs and dairy products. Therefore, it is recommended that they do not receive the flu vaccine. Similar contraindications exist for people with severe allergies to poultry, latex, or peanuts.
- Flu Shot ((Inuflavisa))
- Viagra ((Sildenafil))
- Tamiflu ((Oseltamivir) or (Ribavirin))
- Cimetidine ((Tagamet) or (Seroquel))
- Dexamethasone ((Decadron))
- Methotrexate ((Trexall) or (Trexatoprim))
- Etanercept ((Enbrel))
- Methotrexate ((Trexall) or (Trexatoprim))
- Favipiravir ((Tropisetam) or (Favirox))
- Ongoing Treatment ((Phenytoin, Lovastatin))
The “Flu Viagra” Meme
While a few individuals may have truly believed that they had received both the flu vaccine and Viagra at the same time, that was probably not the case. But still, the “Flu Viagra” meme has been widely shared around the web, so much so that the Pfizer Twitter account was forced to issue a clarification on the topic.
The original post on Twitter led to numerous other memes and jokes, many of which mock the image or the individual in the image for believing the combination to be a good idea. This was most likely a case of people misidentifying the medication they were given as a result of the pandemic, as in most cases, the medication is not intended to be used in conjunction with a vaccine.
But people on social media continued to spread the misinformation, and even those who were aware of the error still found the combination funny. Some individuals claimed that they had received both the flu vaccine and Viagra as a joke, or as a publicity stunt by a celebrity. Still others believed that this was a new medication combination that has never been tried before, and that it was a good idea because the flu vaccine may be ineffective in certain people. They also suggested that the person in the image had a severe case of erectile dysfunction, which is caused by diabetes or a neurological issue. It should be noted here that people with diabetes are more likely to develop erectile dysfunction, so it is possible that this is a case of type II diabetes being misdiagnosed.
The “Me” In The Meme
The image was originally tweeted by Michael Belevitz, but in the days after the initial post, other people began using it on their own Twitter accounts, adding the “me” in the caption to make it a self-referencing meme.
Belevitz had his Twitter account private at the time of the initial post, but he recently made the account public and did so just one day before the start of the new decade. On January 10th, he tweeted out “Happy New Year! I’m sure you’ll all be glad to know that I’ll be active on Twitter next year, so if you want to find me, you can. I hope you all enjoy the new decade!”
So what do we know about Michael Belevitz? We don’t know a lot, but we can look at other, similar memes to find out more about him. For example, the “Flu Viagra” meme is almost identical to a meme that was posted in 2016 and has been re-used multiple times since then. Belevitz, as the original creator of the “Flu Viagra” meme, is therefore most likely a man in his mid-40s, since that is when millennials start to enter the workforce in larger numbers and are thus more likely to encounter the disease. And if we check the “about” section of his personal website, we see that he works for an “innovation consultancy” in New York City.
Where Did The Idea Come From?
The original idea for this meme may have come from Belevitz’s personal experience with the pandemic. While he was not personally affected by the virus, his wife’s family was. One of her aunts, who is in her 80s, became a patient at the end of 2019 and was hospitalized for a time due to complications from the disease. Belevitz’s wife was unable to care for her aunt during that time, so Belevitz stepped in to help.
During these stressful and busy times, it is not hard to see how someone could have mixed up the medication they were given as a result of the pandemic. But as we can see from the clarifying tweet from Pfizer, the company had to issue an official statement regarding the matter due to the erroneous nature of the original post. It is not unexpected that people would share memes and jokes about the situation, especially considering that many individuals are still lacking confidence and a sense of humor may be the only way they can get through this tough time.