In this day and age, the most dangerous virus is misinformation or ‘fakes news’, so I would like to discuss five myths that are false in the fight against COVID-19:
Myth No. 1: the vaccine
At the moment there is no vaccine against coronavirus and just because we have other types of vaccines for other respiratory diseases does not mean that we will have immunity, that is, the influenza vaccine does not protect against coronavirus. Although, at the moment there are very promising clinical trials.
Myth No. 2: hot drinks or temperature changes protect against the virus
Putting the heating on at home or taking hot showers are very frequent myths in the fight against the coronavirus. At the moment there is no evidence that these actions protect against the virus.
Myth #3: Children and adolescents do not get sick.
This is false. According to reports from the World Health Organization (WHO), children and adolescents have the same risk of becoming infected as any other age group and transmitting the infection. So we must protect them equally and, especially now that children are allowed out for one hour a day, evidence suggests that the presentation of the disease may be less severe, but there are reported cases, including some serious ones.
Myth #4: Using antibiotics prevents the virus.
This is false, antibiotics do not work against viruses, they only work for bacterial infections and should not be used as a preventive method for coronavirus. We must be careful with the use of antibiotics to avoid resistance. If an antibiotic is required for another cause you must be prescribed by a physician.
Myth No. 5: Miracle remedies
There are people who even use bleach, chlorine, minerals, miracle oils or drink hydroalcoholic solutions, which are used for hand hygiene. It must be said that they have no preventive benefits and may represent a major health risk.