Misconceptions About Coronavirus : Almost 3 months after the emergence of the new Coronavirus, and with most people going to the internet looking for more information about the transmission methods and treatments available, they encounter a lot of information that may be misleading, and sometimes even dangerous.
In the era of social media, rumors and false information are spreading faster and more widely than ever before, so that the speed of its spread exceeds that of the virus itself.
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19 Misconceptions About Coronavirus
Experts explain that balanced nutrition, adequate sleep regularly, and exercise along with the rules of personal hygiene are the most important ways to address the emerging coronavirus (Covid-19).
Most important Misconceptions about Coronavirus:
1- A coronavirus vaccine has already been discovered:
There is no vaccine available yet to tackle the Coronavirus. Despite the great efforts made by scientists in many laboratories around the world, it may take 18 months to develop a safe and effective vaccine, since developing a vaccine for a virus first requires a deep study of the virus, then designing a vaccine that eliminates it and finally a long and accurate process to test the safety of giving it to humans.
2- Coronavirus was deliberately created in a laboratory:
Whenever a new disease appears, conspiracy theories begin to spread like wildfire. This time, some people claim that the new Coruna virus is a biological weapon that has been engineered in a Chinese laboratory.
No, this virus was not manufactured in a laboratory. In fact, viruses in general change due to genetic mutations, and from time to time an outbreak of one occurs when it is transmitted, for example, from one animal to humans, which is likely to happen in the case of the emerging coronavirus, as mentioned in our article on the emergence of this virus.
3- Parcels from China pass the infection with the Coronavirus:
According to the World Health Organization, the life span of this virus on the surfaces of things is short, so receiving a package from China – which may have taken days or weeks before it reaches you – will not put you at risk of contracting the virus.
In fact, the most common way to transmit infection occurs when an infected person coughs or sneezes and spreads from his mouth or nose small liquid drops that may contain the virus.
4- Facial masks (gags) alone protect against infection with the Coronavirus:
No, it is loose and infection droplets can infiltrate the nose. The World Health Organization recommends that you wear it if you cough, sneeze or deal with a sick person.
The organization notes that the mask is only useful if it is worn properly and accompanied with adherence to virus prevention advice.
5- Eating garlic helps prevent infection with the emerging coronavirus:
Although garlic is generally beneficial and has some antimicrobial properties, there is no scientific evidence to show that eating it prevents HIV infection.
6- Flu vaccines and pneumonia protect against infection with the emerging coronavirus:
These vaccines do not provide protection against the new virus. They are different and require a vaccine of their own that researchers are developing.
Although these vaccines are ineffective against the emerging coronavirus, WHO recommends vaccination against respiratory diseases to prevent infection.
7- People with brown skin do not contract Coronavirus:
There are rumors on social media that people with darker skin have special immunity or resistance to the Coronavirus. However, the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rejected these allegations altogether and says on its website: “Diseases can affect any person regardless of their race or skin color, and people of Asian descent are not more likely to catch the virus than others.”
8- If infected with the virus, you will likely have symptoms
In many cases, symptoms may not exist despite infection. In the event of symptoms, they are initially simple and gradually increase.
9- Children are immunized against the Coronavirus:
This virus can infect all people of all ages. However, it appears that the elderly and people with conditions such as asthma, heart disease and diabetes are more likely to develop the disease.
The World Health Organization recommends people of all ages to take steps to protect against the virus, such as washing hands and adhering to the rules of good respiratory hygiene.
10- Spraying the body with alcohol, chlorine or sesame oil eliminates the emerging coronavirus:
These substances will not help eliminate the virus that has already entered your body. In fact, the use of these chemicals on the skin can cause great harm to the body. However, some disinfectants may help kill the virus on surfaces and objects.
11- Hot bath kills Coronavirus:
No, where the normal body temperature is between 36.5 and 37 ° C regardless of the temperature of the bathing water. In fact, very hot water can be harmful, as it may cause you to burn.
12- Antibiotics are effective in treating the Coronavirus:
Antibiotics only kill germs, while the Coronavirus – as a virus – will not be affected by these antibiotics, so antibiotics should not be taken as a precaution or a therapeutic measure.
But doctors can resort to using it with people living with the virus because of the possibility of infection associated with bacterial infection.
13- Coronavirus is caused by a virus that infects livestock:
The new Coronavirus belongs to the family of coronaviruses that have been known for years, and which infects humans and animals, and there are vaccines given to cows to prevent one of its types.
But the new Coronavirus was not detected before the end of 2019, and it is different from the known virus that infects cows.
14- Drinking water every 10 minutes protects against the virus:
Health experts confirm that drinking water every 10 minutes or a quarter of an hour is not helpful in avoiding infection with the virus. The World Health Organization has confirmed that while drinking water is important to avoid dehydration, it does not help prevent infection with the virus.
15- The virus incubation period is 14 days.
The incubation period of the virus is only 4 days, but it may range from 2-14 days. Therefore, to ensure that the infection is not tolerated, it is necessary to wait 14 days from the date of contact with the infected, which is the isolation period.
16- The virus is dangerous and kills everyone who gets it.
Most cases of the virus are cured permanently, especially at the young age of the strong immune system. Those at risk of complications are usually the elderly, smokers, and those with chronic diseases such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, kidney failure, cortisone treatment, and immunosuppressive drugs after organ transplantation and immune deficiency patients.
17- 5G technology is the reason behind the Coronavirus:
It is undoubtedly the most weird misinformation, as some claim that this virus is somehow linked to the deployment of fifth generation technology in Wuhan, China, and they claim that fifth-generation technology can weaken the immune system in humans and absorb oxygen from the lungs!
Others have gone further, claiming that the fifth-generation technology is causing the symptoms of the disease, not the virus. Of course, there is no scientific basis for these allegations and there is no evidence of the relationship of fifth-generation technology to coronavirus.
18- The most common symptoms of the virus are throat pain, cold, headache and body aches.
The most common symptom of the virus is high fever, dry cough, fatigue, and shortness of breath.
Other less common symptoms are sore throat, cold or cold, body aches, headache, diarrhea.
19- Eating ice cream prevents infection from coronavirus:
A message attributed to UNICEF was recently published on social media, stating that avoiding eating ice cream protects against HIV infection,
which forced the organization to deny any relationship with this type of message through the Deputy Executive Director of the organization, which advised people that they should obtain their information about the virus from Official websites and accounts of trusted sources such as WHO and UNICEF.
19 Misconceptions About Coronavirus
In light of this large spread of false information on the Internet, especially on social media, technology companies are seeking to redouble their efforts to confront the information epidemic on their platforms,
as they work to update their policies to counter false information and prevent it from spreading and provide free advertising space for trusted health agencies. It may be easier to develop a new coronavirus vaccine than to discover a false information virus vaccine.
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