The Covid-19 myths

BY S A R FA R A Z K . N I A Z l  2021-06-04
THE Greek myths were initially propagated in an oral-poetic tradition, most likely by Minoan
and Mycenaean singers, starting in the 18th century BC; eventually, the myths of the heroes of
the Trojan War and its aftermath became part of the oral tradition of Homer`s epic poems, the
Iliad and the Odyssey.

Now comes a pandemic where a non-living entity, a virus, has erupted out of nowhere and
annihilated almost four million souls across the globe; living in an era of oral-poetic (sermons
and speeches) and social media (viral spread of f acts) has proliferated myths that may
supersede the absurdity of Greek mythology.
 A president of the wealthiest nation suggested drinking bleach and putting
ultraviolet light into our bodies to kill the virus;
 some folks claimed there is no pandemic,
 others that it was an act of government, not God.
 When asked or required to wear a mask, many refused it as a `feminine thing`;
 others denounced it as a violation of personal liberty.
 And then came the vaccines against Covid-19, and some said it is forbidden because
it contains elements of foetal protein, others that the vaccine would make you
infertile.
 Some went so far as to say that the vaccine will enable the government to trace your
whereabouts because it instals an electronic chip in your body.
 Videos claiming that a vaccinated site on your arm could illuminate a light bulb
were believed by many.
 Prominent philanthropists were misquoted as opposing the vaccine;
 a theory that anyone who received the Covid vaccine would die within two years was
wrongly attributed to a Nobel laureate.
 There were gods created to ward off the virus, and
 one prime minister asked people to bang pots and pans on the streets (perhaps
thinking it would scare off the virus). Millions complied.
 Many who were told not to attend religious gatherings claimed they had divine
protection. Some among them died.

A hundred years ago, a similar pandemic was first detected in the US the Spanish
flu; it killed 20 million to 100m people worldwide when the total population was 1.8
billion (one per cent to 5pc of the world population) as compared to about 3.8m
deaths in the current pandemic with a populationof 7.8bn (less than 0.05pc); we
fared so much better this time around.

What went right this time? The same social media that spread myths about
Covid19, helped educate people about prevention.
There was no vaccine in 1918. Without prevention, we too could have ended up with
hundreds of millions of deaths. W
ith all these known facts, why is there so much myth around Covid-19? Is it ignorance,
disbelief, or a conspiracy? We cannot stifle the spread of legend, but we can certainly
present rational arguments for those who have an open mind still unin-fected by the virus.
Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and
birds.

Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the common cold (which is also caused
by other viruses, predominantly rhinoviruses), while more lethal varieties can cause
SARS, MERS, and Covid-19. In cows and pigs, they cause diarrhoea, while in mice, they
cause hepatitis and encephalomyelitis. The Covid-19-causing virus was reportedly
transferred from bats to humans. However, the jury is still out.

President Biden recently ordered an inquiry to find out whether the virus escaped from
the Chinese Wuhan Institute of Virology; or worse, was it a manufactured creation (this
will make a good myth).

Despite the certification by the FDA, we are not sure of the source of the virus we may
know soon enough but that will be another theory, and in all likelihood, we will never
know the answer. It does, however, teach us the possibility of using virusesfor biological
warfare a scary scenario that should awaken countries like Pakistan, where such
monitoring is not possible.

Viruses are not living entities; these are a chemistry piece that existed long before the
earliest sign of life came to earth; we harbour thousands of viruses in our body that are
friendly viruses, but the Covid-19 virus is not. It cannot survive outside a living body and
goes into our body cells and teaches them to reproduce it; the body cells follow the
instructions until they get filled up with the virus and burst open, causing the virus to
spread to other cells. It affects the lungs as most coronaviruses do and brings death by suf
focation. Like any other virus, it can be inactivated (not killed because it is not alive) by
just washing hands or wiping surf aces. A virus cannot fly in the air (it has no wings), so
the only way it can enter your body is through fine droplets transmitted through an
infected person who sneezes or simply exhales.

Now we come to the mask; while it is not perfect protection, you can significantly
reduce the risk of both contracting and transmitting the infection.

But wearing a mask is a change in lifestyle that is not comfortable or acceptable to

many. Social distancing, a new cliché designed in this pandemic, helps but is not as
good as a mask.

There are no medicines that can help you once you are infected; only your body
immunity can handle this menace.
Boosting immunity through vaccination is the only viable option. Just because a
vaccine was developed quickly does not make it less safe.
The fast testing of ef ficacy came because of the rapid spread of Covid-19. Any side
ef fects eg blood clots are common to many treatments,including the use of birth
control pills; we never follow these as we did in vaccines for emergency use. All
vaccines are safe.
So, pay no attention to the myths surrounding you; we have come a long way from the
era of Greek gods.• The writer is an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois,
Chicago.

Twitter: Sniazi3@uic.edu