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Telegraph article describing the hypothesis that face masks can variolate a population receives mixed reviews on its scientific accuracy

“The Telegraph headline is obviously misleading but the subheading is accurate. Masks don’t give immunity; rather, the argument is that infections are milder or asymptomatic and allow immunity without severe disease. The article is essentially true to the NEJM commentary, however a reader could become confused and think that the article suggests masks give you COVID-19 immunity.”

The genetic features of the virus causing COVID-19 are compatible with natural evolution, and therefore, don’t prove that the virus was constructed

Although the exact origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus remains unknown, previous claims that the virus contained artificial elements or that it had been patented were debunked. The virus most likely originated in nature, probably in bats, according to the genetic similarity between SARS-CoV-2 and other animal coronaviruses. Dr. Yan claims to prove that the SARS-COV-2 virus originated in a lab, but a careful analysis of her pre-print actually shows this claim is unsubstantiated.

Tuberculosis, the flu, and COVID-19 differ in disease prevalence and burden, requiring different public health responses

COVID-19, tuberculosis (TB), and the flu are all respiratory illnesses that spread through the air, hence protective measures recommended for these diseases are similar. However, the three diseases differ in disease prevalence and burden, leading public health officials to devise recommendations specific to each disease. Unlike TB and the flu, there are no effective treatments or vaccines for COVID-19. The number of TB cases in the U.S. is extremely low, and the flu has a lower mortality rate than COVID-19. These factors taken together explain why public health measures for controlling COVID-19 spread are needed in the community, but not implemented in the case of TB and the seasonal flu.

No vaccine contains strains of both the flu and the virus that causes COVID-19; COVID-19 is not the flu

COVID-19 and the flu are both viral respiratory illnesses, however they are caused by very different viruses that belong to two distinct and separate families of viruses. SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19 is not a strain of flu. Although flu shots are now being distributed in preparation for the upcoming 2020-2021 flu season, the vaccines are not mixed with a COVID-19 vaccine. No vaccine is available against COVID-19 as of September 2020.

The number of COVID-19 cases reported is based on a highly specific diagnostic test for COVID-19; no confusion with flu or common cold is possible

Determining the spread of COVID-19 relies mainly on the detection of confirmed cases. Cases are confirmed using PCR tests which specifically detect the presence of genetic material from SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, and which do not detect viruses that cause the flu and the common cold. Therefore, even though the flu and the common cold can produce symptoms similar to a mild case of COVID-19, cases of the flu and the common cold would not be included in the reported numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Cloth masks are effective at reducing virus transmission because it spreads in respiratory droplets, which are larger than smoke particles and the pores in fabric

When considering effective mechanisms for reducing virus transmission, it is the size of respiratory droplets—rather than the size of the virus itself—that needs to be considered. While viruses are smaller than smoke particles or the pores in the fabric of a cloth mask, viruses cannot travel in the air on their own and must be carried by respiratory droplets, which are much larger than smoke particles or pores in fabric. Therefore, cloth masks are effective at reducing virus transmission as they block respiratory droplets, but ineffective at reducing smoke particle transmission.

Misinterpreted New York Times report leads to false claim that the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is inflated by up to 90%

It is important to distinguish between a person who is infected and a person who is contagious. PCR tests with a high level of sensitivity can produce a positive result even though a person only harbors trace amounts of virus or even dead virus. Hence a positive test result without information about viral load is not of practical value in determining if an infected person should self-isolate and whether their contacts should be traced. However, while a positive test may not tell us whether the person is contagious, it can tell us whether the person is infected. It is therefore appropriate to count positive PCR tests as COVID-19 cases.

Adequate immunization and improved sanitation together protect against infection from both wild and vaccine-derived poliovirus

The oral polio vaccine contains a live but weakened form of the poliovirus, which does not cause infection. In areas with poor sanitization, however, the virus shed by vaccinated children can remain in the environment for long periods of time, and on rare occasions, regain its ability to cause disease. Since immunization protects against both the wild poliovirus and vaccine-derived polioviruses, full vaccination of 80-85% of the children can confer herd immunity and stop polio transmission. And improved sanitation can prevent the emergence of infectious vaccine-derived poliovirus strains.

COVID-19 test kits were not purchased in 2017 and 2018; claim is based on mislabeled data

Test kits for the virus that causes COVID-19 were only developed in 2020, since scientists only discovered the virus in January 2020. It is impossible for scientists to develop a test kit for a virus that is undiscovered. The claim that COVID-19 test kits were being sold in 2017 and 2018 is based on an error in data labeling on the World Integrated Trade Solutions (WITS) website, a resource that allows users to access and retrieve information on trade and tariffs. The error has since been corrected.

Masks offer only partial protection from the virus that causes COVID-19, but their effectiveness can be enhanced with other measures like physical distancing

It is an oversimplification to claim that “either masks work or they don’t”, because the underlying assumption is that face masks must work perfectly, and if they do not, then they don’t work at all. On the contrary, the risks of disease exposure and the degree of protection one can achieve from different safety measures lie on a continuum. Even though face masks do not confer 100% protection to the wearer or to others, scientific evidence has demonstrated that face masks reduce the transmission of viral respiratory infections like COVID-19 to some degree. Therefore, it remains important for people to continue to practice physical distancing and proper hand hygiene as the combination of the three measures greatly enhances the effectiveness of any one measure used alone.