With new information about COVID-19 comes misinformation, too! False claims and rumors about everything from treatments and remedies to how the virus is spread are popping up everywhere–it’s hard to keep track of what’s accurate and what’s not. Our host Myles Bess not only sets the record straight by speaking to a public health expert to answer some of your most burning COVID-19 questions, but also gives you some quick tips on how to fact-check information you’re coming across online.
TEACHERS: Get your students in the discussion on KQED Learn, a safe place for middle and high school students to investigate controversial topics and share their voices.
KQED Learn: htts://learn.kqed.org/discussions/65
New information about COVID-19 and the coronavirus is coming at us fast, and sometimes the new information contradicts what was previously believed. And that’s just how science works. Scientists all over the world are working fast to try to learn as much as they can about coronavirus and COVID-19, the disease it causes in humans. Because of this gap between what scientists already know and changing information as they do more research, it makes sense that there’s a lot of misinformation floating around out there.
So we talked to a public health expert, Dr. John Swartzberg from U.C. Berkeley’s School of Public Health, to set the record straight on a few common questions. Here are some of his answers to your questions.
Does taking Vitamin C protect you against COVID-19? No, there’s no evidence that vitamin C will protect you against COVID-19. Vitamin C is important for your overall health and immune system, but you can get that with the foods you eat. No need to spend money on lots of vitamin c supplements.
If you can hold your breath for 20 seconds does that mean you don’t have COVID-19? No. That recommendation is a myth– don’t follow it.