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There is a new infectious disease that is currently spreading across planet Earth, which has already infected millions and killed nearly 300,000 human beings. The disease, COVID-19, is caused by a new strain of coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which currently does not have a vaccine or a universally safe and successful treatment for it. This highly contagious virus can be transmitted by coughing, sneezing, or even talking, and is particularly deadly to the elderly and immunocompromised.
There are important actions that we can all take , and important behaviors to avoid , if we want to maximize the number of lives saved and minimize the damage caused by nonessential contacts. However, a number of false narratives have emerged that are dangerously misinformative about the virus, how it spreads, and how it affects both individuals and society. Here is the real science, to the best of our knowledge, on 5 of the most pervasive and damaging myths about the new coronavirus.
1.) I will be safe if I keep a distance of 6 feet (2 meters) from everyone else when I am in public. This is possibly the most widespread advice that has spread around the world regarding the new coronvirus, more commonly known as “social distancing” or its more precise name, “physical distancing”. By maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet (2 meters) from other people, we are less likely to contract infections that can be spread by direct physical contact or close air contact.
It is true that keeping that distance, not touching others, not touching the face and not touching elements that others have touched, will reduce the risk of contracting the new coronavirus. But reduced risk only means that you are relatively safer compared to someone who does not participate in social distancing. It is not the same as insignificant risk, and the risks of assuming that you are safe when you are not can be literally deadly.
Sure, more distance is better than less distance, but that’s because you are further from the source of infection. In fact, your risk of getting the SARS-CoV-2 virus depends on your total exposure to the virus; you are much more likely to become infected if you find thousands of virus particles versus hundreds, dozens, or just a handful. But many factors can increase your total exposure, even at the right distance.
- The more people do not wear masks, the greater their exposure to virus particles.
- The more time you spend in an enclosed space where the infection is present, the greater your exposure.
- And yes, the closer you are to an infected person, the greater their exposure.
If even a person in a confined space has the virus, it can easily grow exponentially among the internal population. From aircraft carriers to cruise ships, prisons, nursing homes, and meatpacking plants, this has led to the largest coronavirus groups to date.
2.) Children cannot catch or spread the virus. This is one of those myths that I was surprised to learn was very widespread, not only in the United States but in many countries around the world. While it’s true that the overall death rate for children is quite low: Only 12 children have died from COVID-19 in New York (out of a total of ~ 27,000 deaths), children certainly aren’t immune to the effects of the virus .
A child’s immune system is not fundamentally different from an adult’s immune system, as humans are vulnerable to the same sets of infectious pathogens at any age. While their death rates are low, many young children experience unusual inflammatory conditions, similar to toxic shock syndrome and / or Kawasaki disease.
But even if no child died from COVID-19, it would be unsafe to open nurseries, summer camps, and public schools for one important reason: Infected children are extremely likely to infect other (adult) members of their homes and to serve as vectors for diseases, increasing the spread of SARS-Cov-2. Infected children will infect their family members, and therefore even if they themselves are at low risk of complications, adults they come into contact with are vulnerable, as are adults who come in contact with other children. that they infected.
The CDC noted, in early April, that children may experience different symptoms than adults, but can still have serious results, including death. The recommended preventive behaviors are also recommended for children, as they can play a huge role in disease transmission. Just as adults can contract the disease and spread it to vulnerable populations, even if they don’t have symptoms, children can, too.
3.) You don’t risk dying unless you have pre-existing conditions. Here’s a real core, as it’s true that you have a high risk of dying from COVID-19 if you have a pre-existing condition. But even healthy people of all ages have experienced tremendous complications from this disease: stroke, kidney failure, lung scarring, heart damage, digestive problems, and neurocognitive impacts.
Yes, most people who are hospitalized with COVID-19 have at least one pre-existing condition, but a substantial percentage of severe patients (and a substantial fraction of coronavirus-related deaths) come from patients who had no pre-existing conditions at all. . It should not be forgotten that Li Wenliang, the doctor who helped alert the world to the new coronavirus, was only 33 years old when he contracted SARS-CoV-2. He had no pre-existing conditions, died just four weeks after being exposed to the virus for the first time, and his story is not that of a unique outlier.
4.) Most people have already been infected and are therefore now immune. The good news about this myth is that if you have contracted and recovered from SARS-CoV-2, it really seems that you cannot be reinfected with the current strains of the virus that exist. A major mutation can still occur, but for now, those who have been infected and recovered should be immune to reinfection.
But the reason it’s a myth is that most people, even in the worst affected regions where the most serious outbreaks have occurred (like New York and Milan), have not yet been exposed to the new coronavirus. According to Johns Hopkins:
Even in critical areas like New York City that have been hit hardest by the pandemic, initial studies suggest that perhaps as many as 15-21% of people have been exposed so far. At that exposure level, more than 17,500 of the 8.4 million people in New York City (approximately 1 in 500 New Yorkers) have died, and the overall death rate in the city suggests that deaths may be counted and mortality may be even higher.
We remain incredibly vulnerable, at all levels, from local to global, to death and infection with the new coronavirus. Herd immunity has not been achieved, a situation that is only likely to occur if 70% or more of the population becomes infected or develops a vaccine. If it’s the former, more than 500,000 Americans will die from COVID-19 by the time it happens.
These numbers may worsen further, as COVID-19 mortality rate is probably severely underestimated And the pressure to reopen businesses, restaurants, hangouts, and events is likely to lead to new clusters of coronaviruses – places where the virus will grow exponentially again. The fact that the overwhelming majority of the population remains vulnerable means that only a small fraction of people are immune, and that puts everyone who has not yet faced the disease at risk.
5.) Can I go back to my “old normal” once my area reopens. This is perhaps the most dangerous myth of all, as our collective behavior is the highest arbiter of new infection rates. Thousands of essential employees, in places like meat and poultry packing plants, show new infections. Construction workers in Austin, TX, who recently returned to work, have shown a huge increase in new cases. Infection rates in Tennessee, which recently started a gradual reopening, have seen a resurgence after falling before that.
But the pressure to return to normality is enormous, even if it goes against the best science we have. Every non-essential contact we choose to participate in, with friends, family, coworkers, clients, etc., has the potential to increase the infection rate and counteract the good work that social distancing has given us.
Until a vaccine is available and widespread, we have to adjust our idea of what is “normal.” If we don’t, we will return to where we were in February and March: with infection rates growing exponentially among the general population. There are many good actions that we can take: social distancing, wearing masks, minimizing the time we spend in close places with others, etc., but these actions are more effective when we all take them.
Despite everything we have learned about the new coronavirus, there is still much that is unknown. However, there are many dangerous myths surrounding this disease that are simply untrue despite being widespread. The consequences of believing in these myths will cause people to do what they feel, to the detriment of themselves, others and society in general. The smart solution is to listen to the best scientific evidence we have, as frustratingly incomplete as it is.
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