Busting Misinformation on Covid-19

Op-EdKrithi, Sneha, Prabhat

This article will be exploring some of the myths surrounding Covid-19 and the extent to which they are true. The aim is to provide logic and reasoning to each of these myths, to help us understand why it is not rational to believe and practice them. This would help clarify their credibility and prevent unnecessary fear against information that has no scientific basis.

Curiosity is a fundamental human trait. We all tend to question and seek answers to quench our curiosity. Understandably, people living in isolation amidst the widespread pandemic are more likely to experience excessive panic and stress, kindling their interest to learn more about what the nation is currently fighting against. The only option available to avail these answers from the comfort of our homes, is from our very own search engines. With such a vast conflicting and contradictory collection of data we find in the depths of the net, it is no wonder there exists a right to a wrong and a good to a bad. In between wanting to do as much as possible to prevent getting affected by the virus and having no way to distinguish reliable information on the internet, we usually go with the most effortless “Better safe than sorry” approach which can prove to be harmful in some cases.

This article will be exploring some of these myths and the extent to which they are true. The aim is to provide logic and reasoning to each of these myths and decipher them to help us understand why it is not rational to believe and practice them. This would help clarify their credibility and prevent unnecessary fear against information that has no scientific basis.

Table of Contents

  1. The vaccines have been developed so quickly; are they truly safe?
  2. Should a person who recovered from Covid-19 wait for a certain period before getting vaccinated?
  3. After vaccination, how long do I have to wait before donating blood?
  4. Nebulizers cannot be used as a replacement for medical oxygen tanks.
  5. Vaccine does not make you impotent.
  6. COVID-19 Vaccine being administered in India does not contain pork.
  7. Conspiracy theories falsely claiming that the vaccines contain microchips have been doing the rounds on Indian social media.
  8. Do not stop taking precautions against COVID-19 after being vaccinated.
  9. I have already had COVID once; why vaccinate now?
  10. Does eating non-vegetarian food, particularly chicken and eggs, aid in spreading the infection?
  11. Drinking lemonade cannot make you immune to the virus.
  12. Drinking alcohol cannot help cure COVID-19.
  13. Are young people getting affected more by the second wave of Covid?
  14. Wearing masks does not reduce the oxygen level in the body.
  15. Is Coronavirus vulnerable to heat?
  16. The amount of alcohol in the sanitizer plays a role in how effective the sanitizer is.
  17. Thermal scanners cannot detect COVID-19.
  18. Spraying alcohol or chlorine all over your body cannot kill the new coronavirus.
  19. 5G does not cause COVID-19.
  20. Cow urine doesn’t cure COVID.
  21. Believing you’ll recover from COVID will help you, but doing only that will not help you.

The vaccines have been developed so quickly; are they truly safe?

Developing a vaccine indeed involves years of research. Earlier, the vaccine development involved a series of steps, but in the case of the coronavirus vaccine, the scientists and regulators worked in tandem, accelerating the whole process without compromises on any protocols and any step. The vaccines approved in India have proven to be effective with some mild side effects as stated below.

Covishield: Some mild symptoms may occur like injection site tenderness, injection site pain, headache, fatigue, myalgia, malaise, pyrexia, chills and arthralgia, nausea.

Covaxin: Some mild symptoms or AEFIs (Adverse event following immunization) may occur, like injection site pain, headache, fatigue, fever, body ache, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, dizziness-giddiness, tremor, sweating, cold, cough, and injection site swelling. No other vaccine-related serious adverse effects have been reported.

Despite these side effects, the vaccines seem to be effective. Vaccine effectiveness studies show that they reduce the risk of COVID-19, including severe illness, in fully vaccinated people. Research also suggests that getting two doses of vaccine is better than a single dose.

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Should a person who recovered from Covid-19 wait for a certain period before getting vaccinated?

As per the new guidelines released by the National Expert Group On Vaccine Administration, COVID-19 vaccination to be deferred by 3 months after recovery from the illness. If infected with COVID after 1st dose, 2nd dose to be deferred by 3 months after clinical recovery from COVID-19 illness.

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After vaccination, how long do I have to wait before donating blood?

As per the new guidelines released by the National Expert Group On Vaccine Administration, an individual can donate blood 14 days after receiving COVID-19 vaccine or testing RT-PCR negative.

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Nebulizers cannot be used as a replacement for medical oxygen tanks.

Firstly, let’s understand what a nebulizer is. It is “a machine that turns liquid medication into a mist that you inhale into the lungs over a few minutes”. Patients with medical conditions like Asthma require a nebulizer to inhale the medication. It cannot be used as a substitute for an oxygen cylinder as propagated on social media. Medical misinformation can prove fatal in the middle of a deadly pandemic. Follow the standard medical opinion for monitoring your blood oxygen. The latest clinical guidelines for the management of adult COVID-19 patients, issued by the Health Ministry, states that an oxygen concentration less than or equal to 93% of room air requires hospital admission, while that below 90% is classified as a severe disease, requiring admission to the ICU.

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Vaccine does not make you impotent.

This is a common misconception regarding many vaccines, not just Covid-19. People are scared to get injected with an artificial man-made liquid and have come up with excuses for masking that fear. No, Covid-19 vaccine doesn’t make you impotent. They are not connected to population control in any way. This myth was popularized for political gains. When the country was conducting its massive polio eradication drive several decades ago, some Indians were dissuaded from having a vaccine because of similar rumours. There was no truth to the claims then, and there’s no evidence for them now either.

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COVID-19 Vaccine being administered in India does not contain pork.

Some Islamic scholars in India have said that no Muslim should have Covid-19 vaccines, claiming that they could contain pork products. The two vaccines which have been granted approval in India are Covishield (the local name for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine developed in the UK) and Covaxin, locally made by Bharat Biotech. Neither uses pork gelatine. Two other major Covid-19 vaccines, produced by Pfizer and Moderna, are similarly free of pork gelatine.

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Conspiracy theories falsely claiming that the vaccines contain microchips have been doing the rounds on Indian social media.

Once again this proves how social media is a hub for the spread of misinformation. Microchips aren’t part of any vaccines, although this claim has cropped up repeatedly in conspiracy-minded groups around the world. Such theories shouldn’t make you reluctant to get yourself vaccinated.

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Do not stop taking precautions against COVID-19 after being vaccinated.

There are so many cases of vaccinated people getting affected by Covid. Ain’t this enough proof for us to understand that we shouldn’t discard all safety precautions. Scientists studying SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination do not have any concrete scientific information regarding whether the Covid-19 vaccine stops transmission of the virus. They know for sure that vaccines reduce mortality and the severity of Covid-19 illness. There is still no guarantee that a vaccinated person can return to a pre-Covid-19 pandemic lifestyle. A vaccinated person can go to public places, enjoy parties, and help Covid-19 patients, but with a face mask on and practising physical distancing.

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I have already had COVID once; why vaccinate now?

This is one question that goes through everyone’s mind. We have been taught in our schools that once we get an infection, it is very unlikely for us to get affected by the same infection again because the antibodies produced in our bodies after the first infection will fight it off. It’s like a game of chess you play against a computer. You can’t use the same set of moves to procure a win the second time. Like the computer, our bodies would have learned how to ward off a second onslaught of the same strategy. This is called an immune response.

However, immune protection is not always equal. The strength of the immune response, the length of time that the protection lasts are different for different people affected by Covid-19. Moreover, some cases of Covid-19 reinfection have been reported. Covid-19 vaccines offer safer and more reliable immunity than natural infection, and it is recommended to get vaccinated even if you have been infected with Covid-19 previously.

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Does eating non-vegetarian food, particularly chicken and eggs, aid in spreading the infection?

This is one such myth circulating in social media and the internet. Please understand that meat consumption has nothing to do with the spread of COVID. This piece of misinformation has taken a heavy toll on the Indian poultry industry. So far there is no clear evidence supported by WHO to prove that the novel strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus lives in chicken, eggs, meat, or seafood and can make non-vegetarian food unsafe for consumption. But do note that it’s good to store raw meat separately from other perishable foods in the refrigerator to avoid harmful microbes from raw foods spreading to cooked foods. Never consume raw or undercooked meat products and always wash the meat thoroughly and cook at high temperatures, as this helps to kill the harmful germs.

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Drinking lemonade cannot make you immune to the virus.

It is highly believed that drinking lemon juice made with warm water can help fight the virus off effectively. Some people even go to the extent of using lemon juice as nasal drops to provide relief from cold and cough.

Lemons are high in vitamin C, a potent antioxidant that can improve your immune system, helping your body ward off infections and diseases. However, this does not necessarily make you immune to the virus. It simply helps your body fight infections and can be compared to other casual preventive measures like steam inhalation, eating healthy, etc which assist your body to help to fight foreign pathogens but does not fight them by itself, like a catalyst. It is advisable to drink lemonade once a day, preferably in the morning. However, excessive intake of lemon will not provide extra protection against COVID in any way.

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Drinking alcohol cannot help cure COVID-19.

Okay, so where do we begin with this one? Although there is almost no backup logic to this myth, it is believed that drinking alcohol can help reduce anxiety and the mental health issues resulting from the pandemic. This reasoning is completely false as alcohol provides only a momentary escape from anxiety and once the level of alcohol in the blood goes back to zero, the nervous system overreacts, making the person feel more anxious than before. Moreover, excessive consumption of alcohol can also lead to the weakening of the immune system, making you more prone to the virus.

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Are young people getting affected more by the second wave of Covid?

With the escalating rise in the numbers in the wake of the second wave, it is being reported that more young people are showing COVID-19 symptoms as compared to the first wave. Hence, people believe that the second wave of the virus is mutant in a way that increases the vulnerability of young people. However, it is to be noticed that the overall percentage of the youth affected is almost the same as that of the first wave. If in a group of 100 Covid positive people, 30 belong to the young age group, then the same reasoning can be applied that if 10000 people test positive, approximately 300 of them will be young. Hence, although the count of affected youth has increased, it is mainly because the overall total is far greater than that of the first wave and has nothing to do with the innate nature of the virus.

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Wearing masks does not reduce the oxygen level in the body.

It is widely believed that face masks tend to reduce the oxygen supply and cause carbon dioxide intoxication, thus weakening the immune system. The simple science behind the effectiveness of wearing masks is that it prevents foreign droplets from coming into direct contact with the nose/ mouth. This will decrease the risk of catching the virus through speaking, coughing, and sneezing. However, they allow for oxygen to penetrate in just as readily as they allow for carbon dioxide to penetrate out. This observation has also been scientifically studied and proved with a sample population and hence is completely reliable. Wearing a mask might be uncomfortable and sometimes may even cause momentary breathlessness in the initial stages, but getting used to the mask is essential as it is the easiest way to prevent coming into direct contact with the virus.

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Is Coronavirus vulnerable to heat?

This myth stems from the common belief that hot temperatures kill germs. While this is true as most bacteria can be destroyed by exposing it to high temperatures during the cooking process, the same cannot be generalized to all viruses. The normal human body temperature remains the same, regardless of the external temperature or weather, and so does the effect of the virus. There is no clear scientific evidence stating that Coronavirus cannot survive in hot environments. The best practice is to stay aware of this fact, and take precautions against COVID-19 irrespective of the season.

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The amount of alcohol in the sanitizer plays a role in how effective the sanitizer is.

When we come into contact with an object/a person with traces of the virus, the membrane of the virus sticks onto the cell surface of our hands and forms a fatty layer envelope. The alcohol present in the sanitizer helps disrupt this envelope, causing the virus to break down, thereby killing it. The amount of alcohol present determines the efficiency with which the virus can be undone from the surface of our hands. Although washing hands with soap and water proves to be the most effective method to eliminate the virus, as an alternative portable solution, the CDC (Centre of Disease Control and Prevention) recommends using hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol.

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Thermal scanners cannot detect COVID-19.

All public places like grocery shops, malls, examination centres, etc use thermal scanners to minimize the spread of the virus by the presence of a potentially affected individual. However, thermal scanners are used to detect a common symptom of Covid-19, namely fever and not Covid-19 itself. The scanner, like its name, is used to detect your body temperature and is not a foolproof method in many cases due to its inability to distinguish between the skin and the body temperature. Hence, avoid travelling to public centres as much as possible and make sure to follow proper social distancing under unavoidable circumstances.

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Spraying alcohol or chlorine all over your body cannot kill the new coronavirus.

Disinfectants such as alcohol and chlorine are useful to decontaminate surfaces and sanitize them. One can argue that if disinfectants can be used to remove traces of the virus from objects, then why not use them for ourselves? The logic to this originates from the fact that we aren’t objects and applying harsh chemicals all over the body can damage skin, cause an allergic reaction and also affect the mucous membranes. Hence, make sure to use only use disinfectants in the form of alcohol-based sanitizers in the recommended amounts to cleanse your hands.

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5G does not cause COVID-19.

This myth gives a stark flashback of the times when you tell your parents that you aren’t feeling well, and they reply with “That’s because you’re always on your phone”. No, not everything can be blamed on technology, and 5G is not responsible for the spread of COVID in any way. Theories about the radiation from 5G causing Covid-19 are completely fake, as viruses cannot travel through radio waves/mobile networks. This baseless myth blew on a large scale by expanding to ridiculous conspiracy theories and also posed as a threat to networking companies with people burning down cell towers and boycotting networking sites across the world.

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Cow urine doesn’t cure COVID.

In today’s edition of “How did we even come up with this”, we have a bizarre belief that cow urine has medicinal properties which can cure lung infections. While cow urine is considered quite beneficial in Ayurveda, there is no scientific proof to back this claim. Cow urine is rich in nutrients and minerals but on no basis drinking it can cure COVID-19 in any way. The product’s mineral-rich properties can rather be used to enrich the soil instead of health issues.

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Believing you’ll recover from COVID will help you, but doing only that will not help you.

Having a positive mindset can be very helpful in dealing with this situation, even in its highs and lows. However, it is necessary to extend the positive mindset to following preventive measures to help avoid the virus. Just believing that one will not get affected by the virus and not wearing a mask or practising social distancing norms will not help in any way. While it is a good practice to have a healthy mindset and reassure the affected people with positivity and hope, one must also follow and spread awareness on the right protocols to follow during this pandemic.

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