Use the hammer of science and reason to crush rumors

In the past 2022, mankind has been stubbornly fighting against the novel coronavirus.
At the same time, antigen detection extract contains highly toxic and easily fried substances, nucleic acid sampling swab contains carcinogens, long-term wearing of masks can lead to the enlargement of lung nodules…… These rumors related to the novel coronavirus emerge in an endless stream, confusing our understanding and becoming a stumbling block on the road to fighting the epidemic.
Although the COVID-19 virus cannot be eliminated by human efforts, we should strengthen our resistance to rumors just as we strengthen our resistance to the virus. We should not follow others’ opinions, listen to others’ opinions, and use science and reason to restore the truth and crush rumors.
In the future, we should vigorously spread the scientific spirit, thinking and method, strive to improve the scientific literacy of the whole people, and build a more solid barrier against rumors.
Early “Yang” early at ease?
There is no lifelong immunity after infection

Recently, with the adjustment of epidemic prevention and control policies, the number of people infected with the novel coronavirus has gradually increased. Phrases such as “early Yang is respectful” and “early Yang is good” have become popular on social media. Some netizens said that an infection is equivalent to a vaccine, rather than worrying about whether they are “Yang” every day, it is better to feel at ease early “Yang”.
Zhang Boli, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said it is not right to believe that personal protection is still necessary and that early Yang will be safe. Although the probability of reinfection three to six months after infection is low, the virus is still mutating and there is still the possibility of reinfection. People should take precautions whether they have been infected or not.
Li Dong, chief physician of the General Department of Infection of Beijing You ‘an Hospital and medical expert of Xiaotangshan Makeshift Hospital, has introduced that there are indeed some infectious diseases that are easy to get once, such as measles, rubella, mumps, hepatitis A and so on.
The novel coronavirus, however, is of a different kind, and people infected once do not get lifelong immunity. The novel coronavirus mutates quickly and easily escapes from the human immune mechanism, so there is the possibility of repeated infection. Also, as with COVID-19, different strains have different abilities to infect people multiple times. Omicron is more likely to cause reinfection than Delta and previous variants.
“Try to keep yourself and those around you infected as late and as little as possible.” Li has said that people should take personal protection even if they have been infected with the novel coronavirus, and it is necessary to get the vaccine after infection.
Does the swab contain carcinogens?
Qualified products are non-toxic and harmless

Last year, a rumor called “nucleic acid sampling cotton swabs are toxic” repeatedly appeared in the circle of friends. Some netizens claimed that the cotton swabs, which are professionally called fluorescent probes, contain carcinogenic fluorescent agents, which can damage the blood-brain barrier, facial nerves and olfactory nerves. This makes many people afraid to test nucleic acid.
“The sampling swabs used in nucleic acid testing for COVID-19 are flocking swabs. Flocking swabs can be used for oral, nasopharyngeal, cervical and vaginal sampling.” Liu Chaoyang, manager of the rapid diagnosis department of Tianjin Boxys Biotechnology Co., LTD., which produces COVID-19 antigen test kits and other related medical supplies, said.
“A flocking swab is a flocking process where nylon fibers are placed vertically on the surface of the swab head. This increases the area of contact between the swab head and the sampling site and allows for better sample collection.” “Nylon fiber, the main material of flocking swabs, is a synthetic fiber, which is extremely stable and does not produce harmful substances to human health,” said Liu Chaoyang.
“To say that flocking swabs are ‘fluorescent probes’ is a complete confusion.” Liu Zhaoyang said that fluorescent probe is a kind of fluorescent molecule with characteristic fluorescence in the UV-visible-near-infrared region, and its fluorescence can change sensitively with the change of environmental properties. Fluorescent probes are used in some COVID-19 nucleic acid test kits using fluorescent polymerase chain reaction (PCR), but only in the nucleic acid test of samples, and no fluorescent probes are used in the sampling process.
Collection and Transport of Clinical Microbiology Test Samples (WS/T 640-2018) clearly stipulates that the materials of sampling swab head are synthetic polyester fiber, polyamide fiber, rayon and foam polyurethane, etc., and these materials do not contain fluorescent agents.
Liu Chaoyang said that according to national regulations, nucleic acid sampling swab is called disposable sampler, belongs to medical device products, not only production to record, and there are strict production environment requirements and quality supervision standards, qualified products must be non-toxic, harmless.

Does Wearing a mask increase lung Nodules?
Normal wear will not cause injury

Masks stay with us as long as the COVID-19 pandemic lasts. At the same time, rumors related to masks have been “enduring”. One of the more widespread rumors is “wearing masks for a long time can cause the enlargement of lung nodules”. The rumor says that the middle layer of masks is made of melt-blown petroleum products, and the fine particles in them will enter the lungs through the respiratory tract, and long-term wearing will cause the enlargement of lung nodules.
In this regard, Qian Kun, deputy chief physician of the thoracic surgery department of Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, said that relevant data showed that the detection rate of pulmonary nodules among medical staff, as a typical group of people who wear masks continuously for a long time, was not higher than that of other groups in the hospital who wear masks unnecessarily.
“This data suggests that there is no direct relationship between long-term mask wear and the development of pulmonary nodules.” Qian Kun said.
In addition, Qian Xiaoming, a professor at the School of Textile Science and Engineering at Tianjin Polytechnic University, told reporters that wearing a mask within the normal range of use will not produce fine particles, let alone enter the lungs.
“In addition to textile materials such as cotton, wool, linen, silk and recycled cellulose fibers, many synthetic fibers, including melt-blown cloth, are made from petroleum-based materials.” Qian Xiaoming said that polypropylene, as a major petroleum-based material, has a wide range of applications. The melt-blown cloth used to make masks is a microfiber nonwoven material processed from polypropylene polymer material.
“This polymer material is processed into melt-blown cloth, which has a certain strength and very good filtration performance, and it is impossible to produce small molecules within the normal use time.” Qian Xiaoming said, however, polypropylene is not resistant to ultraviolet light, after a long time of sunlight, it will become brittle, the strength of the problem; Under the action of external forces, such as hand twisting and rubbing, it may also become powder particles.
However, Qian stressed that the powder particles are in the form of large particles, which are difficult to breathe into the lungs.
“Melt-blown cloth masks do not produce fine particles as long as they are not exposed to the sun and do not exceed their service life. It’s usually stored in a backlit place for two years and there’s no problem.” Qian Xiaoming added.

Can drink eat garlic take vitamin C prevent New crown?
All three have no efficacy in preventing and treating COVID-19

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, people have been working on specific drugs to combat the virus. Meanwhile, “folk remedies” claiming to prevent COVID-19, such as drinking alcohol, eating garlic and taking vitamin C, are popping up online.
Experts say drinking alcohol, eating garlic and taking vitamin C cannot prevent COVID-19 or kill the virus, and may even have the opposite effect.
Back in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, scientists found that alcohol at a concentration of 70 to 75 percent was effective in killing the virus, but that was in vitro sterilization. In addition, the novel coronavirus affects the respiratory tract of the human body, and alcohol is mainly absorbed and metabolized in the gastrointestinal system, which cannot kill the virus in the human body.
The WHO website clearly states that there is no proof that eating ginger, garlic, chili and other foods can prevent COVID-19. While garlic has certain antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, it has no antiviral effect.
In addition, many people want to take vitamin C supplements to prevent COVID-19.
Wu Biao, director of the Hospital disease control department and deputy director of the Infectious Disease Medical Center at Hainan Provincial People’s Hospital, said there is no clear evidence that taking large amounts of vitamin C can prevent and treat COVID-19. Vitamin C is an essential nutrient for human body and has certain benefits for improving human immune function. However, it is not an antiviral drug and cannot directly inhibit the novel coronavirus.

Back in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, scientists found that alcohol at a concentration of 70 to 75 percent was effective in killing the virus, but that was in vitro sterilization. In addition, the novel coronavirus affects the respiratory tract of the human body, and alcohol is mainly absorbed and metabolized in the gastrointestinal system, which cannot kill the virus in the human body.
Throw disinfectant tablets down the drain?
Volatilization of harmful gases can affect health

For more effective protection, many people often sterilize their home environment. There is a popular online belief that sewers and toilets are places where the novel coronavirus is hidden, and that they should be periodically disinfected by throwing disinfectant tablets into them to prevent the spread of the virus.
“In the vast majority of cases, drains don’t need to be disinfected. This is because COVID-19 is mainly spread through respiratory droplets and close contact.” Said Zhang Yucheng, an expert with the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
In theory, if neighbors don’t communicate with each other, there is no possibility for the virus to spread through aerosols. In order to prevent odors, sewers in the home in the design of the general “trap”, as long as there is water in the trap, the sewer will not be ventilated. Therefore, the possibility of spreading COVID-19 through sewers is very low.
Sun Yafei, a doctor at Tsinghua University and a member of the China Science Writers Association, said the disinfectant tablets for home use are usually chlorine dioxide tablets, a preparation similar to effervescent tablets. The main components of the tablet are chlorite and citric acid. It does not react easily in solid conditions. When it meets water, chlorite will release a large amount of chlorine dioxide.
High concentration of disinfectant trapped in the trap will continue to volatilize, and the release of toxic and harmful gases will backflow, which will have a great impact on the health of households. In addition, chlorine-containing disinfectant is corrosive to metal. If you throw disinfectant tablets into the sewer directly, the high concentration of chlorine-containing disinfectant will corrode metal pipes and cause sewer damage.
If it is necessary to disinfect the drains, pour the prepared disinfectant into the drains. After 30 minutes, pour fresh water into the drains to remove the remaining disinfectant.
Two weeks after infection to develop antibodies?
Two weeks after Yang is not susceptible to infection

After the first few days of illness, many COVID-19 patients have been recovering. As the number of Yangkang has increased, people are worried about the possibility of reinfection. There are rumors on the Internet that it takes two weeks after a positive nucleic acid test to produce antibodies, so Yangkang is most likely to be infected again within a week. There are also rumors that Yangkang, who took care of other members of his family who were infected with the virus, may also be reinfected.
In response, Li said it takes two weeks for Yang to produce antibodies, which is not accurate.
“The antibodies, which we often talk about being specific, do not reach a relatively high level, or the level that we can detect, until two weeks after infection. But actually the moment the virus enters the body, the body’s immune system is already working.” Dr. Li has said that antibody levels peak two to three weeks after infection and last for a longer period of time. During these two to three weeks, if the virus does re-enter an infected person’s body, it can be quickly cleared away and is relatively less likely to be reinfected.
Li has said that in general, the longer people are infected with COVID-19, the lower their antibody levels and the higher the risk of reinfection.

Can eating oranges make a positive test result?
It doesn’t affect the test results

Rumor has it that eating oranges and tangerine-like acidic foods can result in a positive test for the antigen. The rumor started when a netizen made a “double cross” in orange juice for an antigen test at home.
As early as 2021, German researchers did a similar experiment, experts said. The researchers added a variety of drinks such as cola, Fanta, Red Bull, vodka, whiskey, brandy, and soda directly to the antigen test hole. After a period of time, a T-line indicating positive results appeared. However, nucleic acid tests on these drinks did not detect the novel coronavirus.
In response to the emergence of the “two stripes”, Li said that the antigen test first detects the protein component of the novel coronavirus, usually the N protein. “When the N protein enters the body, it induces the production of specific antibodies. Using this biochemical reaction, we preset specific antibodies inside the test plate in advance. If there is the novel coronavirus N protein in the sample, it will bind to the specific antibody in the test plate, and then let the test line color, report positive.” ‘he said.
Li Dong has analyzed that the specific antibodies preset in the test plate are also proteins in nature, which are susceptible to external influences. Too much acid or alkali in the environment may lead to protein denaturation, resulting in false positives in color development. If you use a drink or fruit, you might get a positive test result.
Experts say standardized sampling is the most critical step in obtaining accurate results of antigen or nucleic acid tests. The applicable sample of the antigen detection kit is “human nasal mucosal epithelial cells”. Dropping orange juice into the kit as a sample does not meet the sampling criteria. Therefore, whatever result is presented is meaningless.
For an antigen test, the swab is taken inside the nasal cavity, so eating oranges does not affect the results. And nucleic acid detection is mainly through the determination of pathogenic microorganism virus nucleic acid to determine the result. The process of extracting nucleic acid requires elution and purification, so eating foods such as oranges has little effect on nucleic acid test results.