It is imperative that infection preventionists engage and combat this messaging on social media and wherever it occurs. To not do so, allows misinformation to fan the pandemic, placing all of our lives at risk.
Recently, there has been a lot of misinformation being disseminated over the internet whose source has been mixed messaging sometimes spurred by federal agencies. Some of the information has been contradictory but some has also been ill advised.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently posted information which has been used to cast doubt regarding the number of individuals who have died of COVID-19 and even questioned whether it is more deadly than the flu.
“While there is still much to learn about COVID-19, at this time, it does seem as if COVID-19 is more deadly than seasonal influenza; however, it is too early to draw any conclusions from the current data.”
“For 6% of the deaths, COVID-19 was the only cause mentioned. For deaths with conditions or causes in addition to COVID-19, on average, there were 2.6 additional conditions or causes per death.”
This comes on the heels of no longer recommending that one test for asymptomatic carriage of the virus.
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Source: Viewpoint: Infection Preventionist Guide to Dealing with COVID Misinformation