As the coronavirus continues to spread, a number of false conclusions and rumors have spread. Three public health epidemiologists at Washington University in St. Louis separate truth from myth.
The number of cases in my region is low, so I don't have to worry. This is wrong. If the number of tests is limited, the number of reported cases is likely to be a fraction of the actual number of infected people who can transmit the disease, making it important that everyone adheres to social distancing measures.
Men are more likely than women to have more serious complications from COVID-19. So far this is true. Six countries show that the ratio of men to women who have died from COVID-19 ranges from 1.1 to 1.9.
The virus will disappear in warmer weather. This is currently unclear. If COVID-19 behaves like other corona viruses, there may be a seasonal pattern with lower transmission in the summer.
Children are only carriers of COVID-19 – they don't get sick. While adults appear to be at higher risk for COVID-19, babies and children can get sick from COVID-19. Symptoms in children are generally mild, but children with underlying medical conditions can develop serious illness. It is important to keep in mind that children infected with COVID-19 can pass the disease on to others, even if they themselves have only mild symptoms or are asymptomatic.
I'm young and healthy, so I don't have to worry about COVID-19. It is true that, in general, younger people are less likely to have severe symptoms and die from COVID-19 compared to older people; however, younger people are not immune to serious illness and death from COVID-19.
Coronavirus is “just the flu”. Symptoms of COVID-19 and influenza may be similar, but COVID-19 spreads more easily, causes more serious illness and is more deadly than the seasonal flu or swine flu. At the moment there may have been more cases of seasonal influenza and deaths worldwide this winter than from COVID-19; However, COVID-19 cases and deaths have increased exponentially and are likely to exceed the number of flu cases and deaths soon unless we can curb the spread of the virus.
A few weeks of social distancing can stop the spread. While social (or physical) distancing measures can slow the spread of the virus, they won't ease the stress on our healthcare system if stopped too soon. Early termination of these measures may also lead to a recurrence of cases where people resume their daily activities.
Public health can beat the coronavirus. There is still time to reduce and stop the transmission of the coronavirus and save lives, but we must act quickly. A coordinated expansion of testing will allow epidemiologists to monitor the spread of the virus, and increased production of PPE will provide much-needed protection for healthcare providers and other vital workers. As we learn more about this novel coronavirus every day, prevention remains a fundamental principle of public health. People of all ages can reduce their risk of exposure to the virus by maintaining good hygiene and social distancing.
