Morse: "Cleaning your fruits and vegetables with bleach
is effective."
Madad: That is completely false.
We used to think that.
Morse: "All schools should reopen
because kids can't get COVID-19."
We used to think that.
But now we know it's not true.
Hi, I'm Stephen Morse,
professor of epidemiology.
My name is Dr. Syra Madad,
and I'm an infectious disease epidemiologist
here in New York City.
Morse: In the past, we have debunked a number of myths.
But new myths keep coming up,
and the same old ones keep coming back.
So let's get to work debunking more myths today.
Madad: "Wearing a mask doesn't do anything."
Morse: And there are people who believe that.
And one reason is that until recently,
we weren't really 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 Nature
that proves that even surgical masks
can prevent infected people
from passing on the infection to others.
Madad: We have seen that in states
that didn't have a mask mandate,
once they had that mask mandate,
over 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 distance while also wearing a mask.
Morse: "Wearing a mask is dangerous
because you'll get carbon dioxide poisoning."
But it takes 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 know that even when people are wearing masks,
their oxygen levels in the blood
are perfectly normal if they're not sick.
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 workers
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 poisoning or toxicity.
Morse: "All schools should reopen
because kids can't get COVID-19."
Once the schools reopen,
we're gonna see a situation
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 just 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 countries in Asia
that have reopened schools successfully
and have been able to remain open.
They started off with having low number of cases,
and they also had contingency plans in place
where you have smaller classroom sizes,
children sitting further apart, wearing masks.
You also have countries that have shown
that they opened 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 have the upper hand
when it comes to this virus.
"Asymptomatic people aren't contagious."
Morse: Asymptomatic people, people who feel
and look perfectly well,
are contagious to others.
And we worry about them
because they may not know what they're spreading.
Madad: In fact, during the early days,
that is when you are most infectious.
Morse: The reality is we have to assume
that anyone who could have it,
indeed could have it,
and they could pass it on to others.
This is why we're making recommendations
that everybody should wear 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 able to infect others.
Madad: "Young, healthy people won't die from COVID-19."
We have seen cases where you have individuals
that have no medical condition
still unfortunately die from COVID-19.
Morse: It may be a very small proportion,
but when you have a very large number of infected people,
those numbers add up very quickly.
Madad: We are seeing, based on certain data
that is coming out, is that even with young people,
if they don't have a severe case of COVID-19,
they are at increased risk, for example,
of strokes and other types of ailments.
And so looking at the death 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 immunity 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 have been tested positive again
for COVID-19 likely just have residual virus
in their body or in their bodily fluids.
But in terms 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 things 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 know.
Madad: "You won't get the virus if you hold your breath
when someone sneezes or coughs."
But what we know about these virus particles
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 surface
and then you're touching your mucus membrane,
you obviously are able to transmit the virus
through that indirect means, if you will.
Morse: So, we have alternatives.
We have masks, we have good hand hygiene,
and social distancing
to make sure that you won't be in the line of fire
when somebody coughs or sneezes.
That's a lot safer than holding your breath.
Madad: "Consuming disinfectants will kill the virus."
Bleach and other types of disinfectants
are not to be used for ingesting
or injecting 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 really does the work,
and that's what really helps.
"Cleaning your fruits and vegetables
with bleach is effective."
Madad: That is completely false.
If you're going to be putting chemicals
on fruit and vegetables that you are then going to ingest,
you're putting yourself more in harm's way.
So, washing your fruit and vegetables
is very similar to how you were washing your fruit
and vegetables before COVID-19 existed.
Washing it under water and making sure
that you're cleaning any fruit and vegetable.
These are just basic good practices.
'Cause it's not just COVID-19
that obviously you wanna make sure
that you are preventing,
but it's also all the other microbes
that can cause illnesses.
"Warm weather will stop the coronavirus."
Morse: Well, here we are at the end of July,
and if anyone still believes that myth,
I think we have plenty of proof.
Madad: There's an epidemiological potential significance
to warmer weather because people are going outside,
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 like a vaccine
that's effective or something else
that's going to stop it,
this virus, given the opportunity to infect,
will continue to infect.
"99% of cases aren't dangerous."
Yes, it is true that probably
only about 1%
of those people who get infected
and get sick 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 affected 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 stroke
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 lowest mortality rates."
Taking the mortality at its face value
is a huge disservice
because it's not painting the full picture
in terms of the whole effect
that COVID-19 has on an individual.
Morse: Unfortunately, when you think about
the entire population on mortality rate,
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 really a low infection rate,
because the infection is gonna be there.
Mortality rate proves you're just getting better
at treating the severe cases.
Madad: "5G technology is spreading COVID-19."
COVID-19 is spread by respiratory droplets
when somebody coughs, sneezes, 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 totally unrelated.
You can spread computer viruses
through technology on the internet,
but real viruses requires human contact.
"The media 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 listening 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 care.
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 will 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 change,
because we wanna go with what we know to be effective
in terms of keeping everybody safe.
Morse: Stay safe, stay well, and...
Madad: Stay tuned and stay informed,
and that's very important.