Misinformation about Masks

Mask Misinformation 1: Masks don’t work, so there is no point in wearing one

This is false, of course. The most recent information is from a review of all the studies about mask use from the Journal of the American Medical Association. The conclusion is that masks decrease the risk of catching COVID-19 by 70%. Masks that fit snugly, have more than one layer, and have a tight weave are the most effective. Masks especially protect other people when they are worn by people who are infected. They also, however, protect the wearer from becoming infected. Since people are most infectious before they develop symptoms, universal mask wearing provides the most protection for everyone. Here is a link to the article in JAMA.

Mask Misinformation 2: Masks can make you sick

The claim is that bacteria build up inside the mask and that can cause infection. There is absolutely no evidence to support this claim. People who wear masks have no higher incidence of any infection than people who don’t wear masks. People who consistently wear masks, though, have a 70% lower chance of catching COVID-19 than people who do not wear masks consistently.

Misinformation about Treatment

Treatment Misinformation 1: Hydroxychloroquine and/or azithromycin prevent and treat COVID-19

This is one of those pieces of information that is like a zombie. No matter how much it is discredited, it never seems to die. There have been a number of very well designed studies to evaluate hydroxychloroquine as both a treatment and for prevention of COVID-19. All of these studies show absolutely no effect of hydroxychloroquine for either treatment or prevention of COVID-19. The same is true of azithromycin. There is no evidence of any effect for treatment or prevention for it alone or in combination with hydroxychloroquine. People who took hydroxychloroquine in these studies had more side effects and actually did worse than the control patients who did not get hydroxychloroquine.

Treatment Misinformation 2: Large doses of vitamin D prevent COVID-19

There is some evidence that people who have below normal levels of vitamin D have a slightly increased risk of serious COVID-19. Low levels of vitamin D are more likely to occur in northern latitudes where there is less sunshine. There is no evidence that people with normal vitamin D levels benefit from taking extra vitamin D for either treatment or prevention of COVID-19. If you live in the north, it might be worthwhile to ask your physician to check a vitamin D level. If you live in the south you are very unlikely to have anything other than a normal vitamin D level, so a test is probably not worth it.

Treatment Misinformation 4: Nutritional supplements such as vitamin C and zinc help prevent and treat COVID-19

Once again, there is no evidence that vitamins and nutritional supplements either prevent or treat COVID-19. A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported on a randomized controlled trial (the gold standard in study designs) evaluating vitamin c and zinc as treatment for mild COVID-19. The trial showed no effect. Here is a link to that article.

Prevention

The only interventions that have been show to prevent COVID-10 are wearing a well fitted cloth mask with multiple layers, social distancing of six feet or more, and avoiding closed indoor spaces. Vaccines have been shown to prevent serious disease. It is possible that they also prevent infection, but it will be several more months before we can be confident of that.

Treatment

There are several treatments that have proven to be somewhat effective in the treatment of COVID-19:

1. Remdesivir has a modest effect on decreasing duration of illness.
2. High dose steroids, such as dexamethasone are helpful in people hospitalized with severe disease.
3. Monoclonal antibodies (bamlanivimab, casirivimab and imdevimab) are helpful in high risk people who have early COVID-19.

There are no “natural” medicines that treat or prevent COVID-19. Hydroxychloroquine and/or azithromycin are ineffective for treatment or prevention and hydroxychloroquine seems to cause increased harm.

In the next post I will talk about how misinformation spreads on social media and how to recognize it. I will also provide some reliable online sources of real information about SARS-COV-2 and COVID-19.