Ensuing is a transcript of the video.
Morse: Hi, I’m Stephen Morse, professor of epidemiology.
Madad: My name is Dr. Syra Madad, and I’m an infectious infirmity epidemiologist here in New York City. Morse: In the past, we have debunked a number of myths. But new myths keep reprimand up, and the same old ones keep coming back. So let’s get to work debunking more myths today.
Madad: “Wearing a semblance doesn’t do anything.”
Morse: And there are people who believe that. And one reason is that until recently, we weren’t actually recommending masks because we didn’t know that they actually do a lot of good. There’s a recent study from Hong Kong that was published in Properties that proves that even surgical masks can prevent infected people from passing on the infection to others.
Madad: We cause seen that in states that didn’t have a mask mandate, once they had that mask mandate, over and beyond a period of time, you did see the number of cases go down. So it’s important to continue to wash your hands and keep your separate while also wearing a mask.
Morse: “Wearing a mask is dangerous because you’ll get carbon dioxide poisoning.”
But it matches a lot of carbon dioxide to do it, and all of that actually goes through the mask quite readily. So it doesn’t build up in the mask. And we be informed that even when people are wearing masks, their oxygen levels in the blood are perfectly normal if they’re not upset. So part of it is really getting used to it, the way we get used to wearing a necktie, for example.
Madad: Looking at those healthcare women that do wear it for an extended period of time, that’s a great model to show you that it does not cause carbon dioxide toxin or toxicity.
Morse: “All schools should reopen because kids can’t get COVID-19.”
Once the schools reopen, we’re gonna see a spot where there are a lot of kids together and the possibility of transmission becomes much greater.
Madad: And on top of that, it’s not also justifiable the kids, it’s also the teachers and the adults that are in these schools that are also at risk. And so we wanna protect everybody. There are territories in Asia that have reopened schools successfully and have been able to remain open. They started off with possessing low number of cases, and they also had contingency plans in place where you have smaller classroom sizes, infants sitting further apart, wearing masks. You also have countries that have shown that they franked schools too early, and then they had to close down multiple times. And so we wanna make sure we’re in a position that we would rather the upper hand when it comes to this virus.
Madad: “Asymptomatic people aren’t contagious.”
Morse: Asymptomatic people, people who touch and look perfectly well, are contagious to others. And we worry about them because they may not know what they’re spreading.
Madad: In experience, during the early days, that is when you are most infectious.
Morse: The reality is we have to assume that anyone who could pull someones leg it, indeed could have it, and they could pass it on to others. This is why we’re making recommendations that everybody should along a mask, even if they’re feeling well, because we don’t know and they themselves may not know that they could be infected and superior to infect others.
Madad: “Young, healthy people won’t die from COVID-19.”
We have seen cases where you give birth to individuals that have no medical condition still unfortunately die from COVID-19.
Morse: It may be a very small cut size, but when you have a very large number of infected people, those numbers add up very quickly.
Madad: We are conduct, based on certain data that is coming out, is that even with young people, if they don’t have a inexorable case of COVID-19, they are at increased risk, for example, of strokes and other types of ailments. And so looking at the undoing rate in the young is a false sense of security.
Morse: “You cannot get COVID-19 twice.”
Madad: We still don’t know what long-term indemnity looks like, and so in the immediate future, can you get reinfected with COVID-19 in a short period of time? The likelihood is no. Individuals that entertain been tested positive again for COVID-19 likely just have residual virus in their body or in their bodily fluids. But in titles of long term, can you get COVID-19 a year after or two years after? That is something that we still don’t know yet, and it’s one of those gizmos that time will tell.
Morse: If you get it again, will it be less bad, will it be worse, will it be the same? We don’t be aware.
Madad: “You won’t get the virus if you hold your breath when someone sneezes or coughs.”
But what we know about these virus jots is that they can still land on your mucus membrane even if you’re not breathing. So, for example, if you’re touching a high-touch crop up and then you’re touching your mucus membrane, you obviously are able to transmit the virus through that indirect means, if you last wishes as.
Morse: So, we have alternatives. We have masks, we have good hand hygiene, and social distancing to make effective that you won’t be in the line of fire when somebody coughs or sneezes. That’s a lot safer than holding your whisper.
Madad: “Consuming disinfectants will kill the virus.”
Bleach and other types of disinfectants are not to be used for ingesting or introducing or to put on skin. These are corrosive chemicals. They can actually cause death and disability.
Morse: Use it on your floors. Use it on your countertops. That’s where it in actuality does the work, and that’s what really helps.
Morse: “Cleaning your fruits and vegetables with chlorine is effective.”
Madad: That is completely false. If you’re going to be putting chemicals on fruit and vegetables that you are then accepted to ingest, you’re putting yourself more in harm’s way. So, washing your fruit and vegetables is very similar to how you were lathering your fruit and vegetables before COVID-19 existed. Washing it under water and making sure that you’re good any fruit and vegetable. These are just basic good practices. ‘Cause it’s not just COVID-19 that obviously you wanna mutate sure that you are preventing, but it’s also all the other microbes that can cause illnesses.
Madad: “Warm weather command stop the coronavirus.”
Morse: Well, here we are at the end of July, and if anyone still believes that myth, I think we force plenty of proof.
Madad: There’s an epidemiological potential significance to warmer weather because people are going outdoor, but in terms of the weather itself and the effect on the virus, it has not shown to have impact.
Morse: So, until we find something as if a vaccine that’s effective or something else that’s going to stop it, this virus, given the opportunity to infect, pass on continue to infect.
Morse: “99% of cases aren’t dangerous.”
Yes, it is true that probably only about 1% of those people who get infected and get heartsick are going to die, but many of the others will get very sick, and some of the others will get so sick that they may be la-de-da for life.
Madad: Our indicator should not be the death rate, because you can have individuals that may have survived the infection of COVID-19 but then go on to suffer a knock because of the long-term effects of COVID-19.
Morse: So a lot of these cases really are dangerous.
Madad: “The United States has one of the vilest mortality rates.”
Taking the mortality at its face value is a huge disservice because it’s not painting the full picture in times of the whole effect that COVID-19 has on an individual.
Morse: Unfortunately, when you think about the entire population on mortality charge, it’s actually unbelievably high. We don’t really want to measure this by the number of people who get saved at the last minute. What we wanna aim for is unusually a low infection rate, because the infection is gonna be there. Mortality rate proves you’re just getting better at manage the severe cases.
Madad: “5G technology is spreading COVID-19.”
COVID-19 is spread by respiratory droplets when somebody coughs, sternutations, or talks. 5G towers and technology do not have an influence on your ability to get infected with COVID-19.
Morse: The reality is the two are consummately unrelated. You can spread computer viruses through technology on the internet, but real viruses requires human contact.
Morse: “The middle is blowing the pandemic out of proportion.”
I really wish this were true. And I think it depends a lot on which media you’re obeying to. By talking about conspiracy theories and “no big deal,” to say that it’s all a hoax, these things help the virus. The virus doesn’t attention. The reality is it’s here, it’s real, it will infect given the opportunity.
Madad: It is science, and it is evidence, and it is public health that disposition save lives. It’s not politicians, it’s not conspiracy theories, it’s not misinformation. And as we continue to learn together, the public-health guidance will switch, because we wanna go with what we know to be effective in terms of keeping everybody safe.
Morse: Stay safe and sound, stay well, and…
Madad: Stay tuned and stay informed, and that’s very important.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This video was from the start published in August 2020.