By The biggest obstacle to ending this pandemic is misinformation. It can be well-intentioned or politically motivated, but without a clear and scientifically backed plan, this disease will continue to propagate and more people will die.
When someone does something stupid like burn down a 5G tower, or even protest the lockdown, they are endangering themselves, their families and their communities.
So I was dumbfounded when the President of the United States got on stage and mentioned using “an injection” of household cleaners as a possible cure for the virus.
It is comical that a company feels the need to get out in front of a possible PR disaster because the president mentioned their product as a possible cure for a pandemic.
Trump has since said that he was being sarcastic, which he clearly wasn’t, but even giving him the benefit of the doubt, a press conference about a deadly disease might not be the best place to be making jokes about injecting yourself with bleach.
The very fact that I, or anyone else, had to write out the previous paragraph stuns me.
It was such a bone-headed move, that was broadcast to so many people, that Lysol had to publicly state that ingestion or injection of their products is a bad idea.
Reminder: Lysol disinfectant and hygiene products should only be used as directed and in line with usage guidelines pic.twitter.com/yPVhvINxbU
— Lysol US (@Lysol) April 24, 2020
Trump should have an easy job. Use his platform to boost the signal of epidemiologists. To use his position and power to communicate accurate information to the American people.
He has done completely the opposite, peddling conspiracy theories and stoking the fires of movements to end the quarantine. Trump has a contentious relationship with many of the experts he should be cooperating with.
People are afraid. And rightfully so. And when people are cooped up in one place with nothing to occupy themselves with other than that fear, people do stupid things.
Telling these fearful people that household cleaners and detergents can kill the virus in a minute flat, and that we should look into using them internally is beyond irresponsible. There are going to be people who are desperate enough to try it.
This terrible advice is especially terrible considering the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report April 20 that warned of accidental bleach poisonings of people who were a little too zealous in their cleaning.
If people are already poisoning themselves with bleach, the last thing we need is the president suggesting they inject it.
Trump has expressed that he wants Americans to get back to work and the period of self-isolation to end prematurely all the while saying that he was ahead of the curve when it came to his response to the virus.
The fact that the United States now is number one in reported deaths from the virus says differently.
Media outlets friendly to Trump-like Fox News have downplayed or contradicted the warnings of people like National Institute of Allergy and Infectious disease Director Anthony Fauci.
These outlets have reported that the virus is far less deadly than reported and that economic concerns outweigh the possible deaths.
This is a historic crisis. And the way through with the fewest casualties is to listen to medical professionals. At this point, I’d recommend not even tuning into Trump’s press conferences on the virus. All you will get are lies, self-aggrandizement and some truly terrible advice.
Instead follow agencies that aren’t led by psychopaths like the CDC and the World Health Organization for practical, applicable advice that doesn’t include mainlining cleaning products.
