The Five Biggest Lies About Covid-19
By: David Mokotoff
Tags: Vaccines, Lies, Immunity, Covid 19, Pandemic

Ten months into the pandemic, we can now look back and separate some truths from fiction.

Courtesy of The Los Angeles Times

As we approach the first anniversary of the global pandemic, it is time to separate fact from fiction. Although there are still few absolutes, an abundance of evidence permits us to draw a few reasonable conclusions. The politicization of the outbreak and a growing mistrust of government, scientists, and authorities provides fertile ground for conspiracy theories and outright lies. Here are the five biggest falsehoods.

China created the virus in a bioweapons lab.

The Wuhan, AKA Covid-19, virus, was rumored to have been developed in a bioweapons lab. There is no convincing evidence that this was true. Although innuendos to the contrary by both Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo in the spring, the bulk of evidence suggests natural genetic mutations of a pre-existing virus led to its emergence. Added to the near-unanimous scientific opinions in this regard is another question. Even if China seeks to dominate the world by any means and has little respect for human life, why would it unleash a virus in its own country without a vaccine or antidote? Many claim it was just an accident. There is, of course, some precedence for this. A graduate student working in a Singapore lab in 2003 was sickened by the SARS virus after the epidemic ended. But the genetic coding of the current virus suggests a more common cause, i.e., genetic mutation.

You can get the virus by touching infected surfaces.

Like millions of other people and families, my wife and I spent much of the spring wiping down groceries and leaving Amazon cardboard boxes untouched outside for at least twenty-four hours. Much information on-line detailed how long strands of the virus lasted on different surfaces. The CDC dispelled this myth of surface transmission months ago. The whole virus does not live long on any surface. It is vulnerable to air, wind, and sunlight. A neighbor has an outside wooden book lending library. It still has a cover on it that says, “Closed due to Covid-19.” Not even one documented case of this virus being transmitted by touching a surface has been reported. Despite this knowledge, we still see store workers compulsively wiping down card readers, and Clorox wipes are missing from store shelves. After restaurant outbreaks, work crews in Hazmat suits even come in to “sanitize” everything. Why?

The answer lies in something I learned in medicine a long time ago. When a situation seems untreatable with few, if any options, at least do something…anything. It would help if you showed the patient, and their families, that you are trying. People rightfully interpret inaction as the same as hopelessness. Thus, this sanitization “reductio ad absurdum” is little more than a hygiene dog and pony show. The virus needs quick transmission from one host to another. Unless an infected person sneezes or coughs on a surface, and you touch it, and then immediately touch your face, you likely won’t become infected. However, this reality should not dissuade everyone from practicing good hygiene as defined by frequent hand-washing and sanitizer. Many other pathogens, or germs, can be prevented by doing this, so the practice should not be ignored.

Herd immunity, not vaccines, will end the outbreak.

During the first few months of the pandemic, some countries tried adopting “herd immunity.” To those few still unfamiliar with this term, here is the definition. “When most of a population is immune to an infectious disease, this provides indirect protection — or herd immunity (also called herd protection) — to those who are not immune to the disease". “Most” is usually defined as at least 70–80% of the population. There are only two ways to achieve it. First, the infected produce natural antibodies after being ill and generally don’t get the disease again. Second, people get a vaccine to protect them from getting the illness. The problem with the first approach is that millions will die first before the goal is attained. The United Kingdom quickly learned this was a failing strategy and abandoned it. Unfortunately, Sweden did not understand this lesson.

Unlike most other Scandinavian countries, they did not lockdown, wear masks, or change their habits much. As a result, their morality is triple that of its neighbors. Their approach was to protect the “elderly and vulnerable,” while everyone else pretty much carried on as usual. A few medical authorities have advocated this approach too.

The highly controversial “Great Barrington Declaration”, written by respected doctors from Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford, has been signed by thousands of physicians. Alas, the declaration does not discourage the use of natural herd immunity. Instead, it states, “We know that all populations will eventually reach herd immunity — i.e. the point at which the rate of new infections is stable — and that this can be assisted by (but is not dependent upon) a vaccine.” This position detracts from an otherwise useful and thoughtful document. Mass vaccination is the only way to defeat this disease without further considerable deaths. Yes, most people who get Covid-19 will not die. However, we don’t know the long-lasting effects. Many so-called “long-haulers” continue to suffer symptoms. Others have inflammation of the heart or myocarditis, which may eventually lead to heart failure, disability, and death. To date, there are no long term similar side effects of the vaccines. The risk/benefit ratio favors vaccination.

Wearing masks is not effective in preventing the spread of the virus.

Courtesy of pixabay.com

It defies logic and evidence that we are still having this debate. Some of this undoubtedly stems from early CDC and Dr. Fauci’s misstatements about not needing to wear a mask. Fear of mask hoarding by the general public and thereby, shortages in hospitals led to this lie. That has not helped garner confidence in government positions and proclamations. It is a fact that most masks do a better job of preventing the spread of viruses from the wearer to the public than the other way around. Notable exceptions are devices like the N95 respirator masks that block 95% of all germs reaching the wearer’s nose and mouth. Good quality cloth and disposable masks do block some pathogens but not nearly as well as the N95. Bandanas or neck gators are the least effective. But since there is a potentially large and unknown number of asymptomatic people who could spread the disease, widespread mask-wearing indoors makes sense. The utility outdoors is less clear.

Some studies have stirred controversy by citing data and charts claiming to show no change in infection rates of mask mandates vs. non-mask mandated areas. The problem with these studies is twofold. First, it is exceedingly difficult to have people self-assess how often or well they wear a mask. And second, once the case rates of Covid-19 jumps, leading to the mandates, there is often a drop in cases. People then become less likely to comply with the directives. Other reputable sources confirm that masks do work at stemming widespread virus transmission. Finally is my non-scientific observation. Most pandemics and cases of flu start in the Far East. As soon as an epidemic arises, I see millions of their citizens wearing masks when out in public. Maybe they know something we don’t.

Getting Covid-19 is not worse than having the flu.

The short answer here is we don’t know this yet. World-wide the current death rate is 2.2%. In the US, it is 1.7%. Influenza fatality rates are around 0.1%. Even one of the best countries to handle Covid-19 spread, South Korea, still has a mortality rate of 1.4%. We can argue about the misclassification of a positive covid case and if deaths are being counted correctly. But there is such a vast difference here that to minimize the chances of dying makes no sense. And as noted above, long-term disabilities are resulting from Covid infection. Influenza is most lethal in very young and very old. Covid is more likely to kill the elderly and compromised adults than the very young. Multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a severe condition that appears to be linked to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It is a rare complication of Covid infection. Judging by the lack of recent news coverage as compared to a few months ago, I suspect its incidence is still relatively low. However, useful data in this regard is sparse.

Following his one bout with Covid-19, President Trump implied that his illness was no big deal and inferred it was not worse than the flu. Never mind that at that time, he received early intervention and top-notch medical care. The latter included antibody treatments not then available to the general public. It is possible that after the next two years, the fatality rates will be much lower. But at this moment, the comparison makes no sense.

I understand and appreciate the terrible cost that lockdowns have caused here and abroad. They should only be reserved for overrun health care facilities and full ICU units. But this virus is not the same as the flu.

With time there will be more misunderstandings, exaggerations, and outright lies. The only way to survive this ordeal is with the very best and up to date reliable information available at a given moment. Politics has no place in constructing pandemic policy. Regrettably, even public health has provided no safe harbor in this regard.

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