The world has been at constant war against COVID-19 for the past year. However, it’s not the only battle we’re fighting. We’ve also been dealing with an infodemic. Ever since this virus started making headlines, people became anxious, and this anxiety made room for a number of rumors, propaganda, and misinformation. The rise of this infodemic led a lot of people to believe in myths related to the virus rather than authentic health advice given by the official authorities. Following are some deceitful myths that arose in the pandemic and why they’re not right. Let us have a look.
1. Saline Water Gargling And Nasal Irrigation Will Protect You Against COVID-19
To date, no research claims that rinsing your nose and gargling with saline will protect you against COVID-19. Yes, doing this may ease your symptoms of acute upper respiratory tract infections, but it is not a shield against the virus.
2. Over-The-Counter Remedies Can Treat COVID-19
When the virus got stronger and spread wider, many people believed that sage, sesame oil, silver colloid, essential oils, or vitamin C could help you cure yourself of COVID-19. Unfortunately, these remedies are not a cure-all. However, there are some ways to prevent yourself from catching this virus, like avoiding crowded places, wearing a mask, using an alcohol-based sanitizer, and washing your hands frequently. The rise of these myths also gave way to people taking up online health-related courses like an online MPH to know what the right preventive method is and what is just a myth.
3. Consuming More Garlic Reduce The Chances Of You Catching The Virus
A lot of researches suggest that garlic kills several types of bacteria. And that’s not false, but what’s wrong here is that COVID-19 is no bacteria; it’s a virus. Garlic can be effective against bacterial infection, but it’s not evident from any researches that it can protect you from COVID-19.
4. Hand Dryers Can Kill The COVID-19
How can something that is not even capable of killing germs kill this deadly virus? What’s more interesting is that several research pieces have suggested that hand dryers spread more germs than paper towels. With that said, please protect yourself from COVID-19 and all germs and bacteria in general by washing your hands frequently and drying them with a clean towel or tissue paper.
5. You Can’t Catch COVID-19 If You’ve Got A Mask On
This is yet another myth. Even though wearing a mask reduces your risk of being exposed to the novel virus, it does not completely cancel out the possibility of you catching the virus. Masks can be penetrable, too, if proper social distancing is not practiced. Other SOPs should go hand in hand to fully shield yourself against this virus-like following the six-foot rule and sanitizing your hands frequently.
6. Zero Survival Chances If You Get COVID-19
Looking at the severity of this myth, we’re going to dig straight into the facts. According to WHO’s report, the mortality rate of COVID-19 has been 3.4%. This pretty much shows how deceiving these myths are and how harmful they can be for anxious people. Majority of people who were tested positive for COVID-19 experienced mild symptoms and then recovered in a few days with careful treatment.
7. Pneumonia And Flu Vaccines Can Be Used As A Vaccine For COVID-19
This is not the case at all. Given that SARS-CoV-2 is a different type of virus, no other vaccine of any existing viruses can help our body fight against COVID-19. The only vaccine that can help fight against COVID-19 is the one designed for it and is now being distributed worldwide, with a significant number of people already vaccinated.
8. Chlorine Or Alcohol Spray Is All You Need To Kill COVID-19
While both of these products can disinfect surfaces, they play no role in killing COVID-19 inside your body. Your skin isn’t just another surface where you can spray such products on. Your skin is highly sensitive, and if chlorine enters your mouth or eyes, it can be extremely dangerous.
9. Consuming Alcohol Lessens The Chances Of Getting Infected
Alcohol is proven to fight against COVID-19, but that’s only when used on a surface, not when you consume it. It’s really important to differentiate between the two uses of alcohol. Yes, it’s being used in sanitizers because it can fight against this virus. However, alcohol poses serious threats to one’s health. It weakens one’s immune system to such an extent that one can become highly exposed to any disease.
10. You’re Free To Roam Around Once You’re Vaccinated
Even after being vaccinated, you can’t live as you used to before COVID-19 hit the world because researchers are still working on it. It’s still unknown if a vaccinated person can transmit COVID-19 or not. Therefore, until the research gives any assuring results, it’s your responsibility to keep following the SOPs even if you’re vaccinated.
Conclusion
We tried dispelling as many myths and misconceptions as we could. However, there are, and there will be indefinite misleading rumors that might make you believe them. All you have to do is cut them all off, do your research, consult a professional, and focus on authentic ways to protect yourself against the virus. These ways include social distancing, avoiding crowded places, wearing face masks, sanitizing hands frequently, vaccinating yourself, and most importantly, making yourself aware of such myths and the truth.