Can drinking urine cure COVID? U of L doctor's response to anti-vaxxer's claim goes viral

A tweet by a University of Louisville kidney specialist advising people not to drink their own urine to cure the COVID-19 virus has gone, well, viral.

Prompted by an online story about an Alabama anti-vaccination advocate who recommends the urine cure, Dr. Jon Klein, vice-dean for research at the U of L medical school, posted on Twitter Monday night bluntly advising against it.

By midday Wednesday, it had been viewed nearly 4.5 million times and was still climbing with comments and replies from around the world.

The reaction astonished Klein, a nephrologist who has treated kidney disease for nearly four decades.

"It was sort of crazy, the way it just took off," he said. "As a nephrologist, I get all sort of tweets from other nephrologists. But this is sort of an epic event for nephrology Twitterdom."

Klein said he sent the tweet toward the end of the day after seeing the AL.com article about Christopher Key, a fierce opponent of the COVID-19 vaccine who promotes alternative therapies including drinking urine.

“The antidote that we have seen now, and we have tons and tons of research, is urine therapy,” Key said in a video, according to the article. “I know to a lot of you this sounds crazy, but guys, God’s given us everything we need.”

Klein, whose twitter profile describes him as a "dad, husband, son, brother, happy, nephrologist and scientist," said he couldn't let the claim go unchallenged.

"I thought, 'I know a thing or two about urine, having been a kidney doc for a while,'" Klein said. "It's not a good idea to drink your own urine."

Plus, he said, there is no evidence doing so has any effect against COVID-19 or other illnesses.

"At some point, it ought to be obvious that drinking your own urine will not protect you," Klein said.

Still, he decided to send the tweet because "apparently there's a lot of people looking for something different."

His tweet reads: "I’m a kidney doctor. I’ve studied how the kidneys make urine for 39 years. Do not, I repeat do not, drink urine to treat COVID. That is all."

More: Anti-vaxxer tells supporters the new COVID antidote is in 'urine therapy'

Klein said he's always enjoyed explaining medicine and science to the public, including on an online Saturday show he appeared in with Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer in the early months of the pandemic to update people on COVID-19.

That's what he was attempting to do with Monday's tweet.

"I just thought people would appreciate a clear explanation, brief and to the point from someone who is a kidney specialist," Klein said.

Apart from a flurry of responses from his nephrology friends, Klein got hundreds of replies from others.

One asked whether bourbon was considered a cure for COVID-19.

Klein's response: "We have been treating COVID with bourbon here in Kentucky and unfortunately it does not appear to be effective."

Another tweeted: "It amazes me that you would even have to say this."

And someone else offered this comment: "I'm a doctor of Astrophysics. I can add that drinking dark matter, dark energy, quark matter, singularities or sterile neutrinos will also not treat Covid."

It even attracted the attention of comedian Patton Oswalt.

"Well I’ve been urinating for MORE than 39 years, so I’m gonna go with my gut, thankyewverymuch Mr. Big Important Doctor Man," he tweeted.

Klein said he doesn't have any follow-up COVID-19 tweets planned but remains concerned about people's' susceptibility to misinformation.

"Once they buy into the idea they are not going to get vaccinated, they are desperate for alternatives," he said. "We see people in medicine all the time who make bad decisions."

Reach Deborah Yetter at dyetter@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4228. Find her on Twitter at @d_yetter. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Can drinking urine cure COVID? Doctor slams anti-vaxxer's claim