A viral Facebook video that has been viewed more than 2,400 times provides misleading remarks about the lethality of the coronavirus pandemic and the effectiveness of measures to manage it.
The seven-minute clip, which was posted on February 23 and has been viewed nearly 40,000 times (fb.watch/3TB5QuBuRl/), features a monologue by Godfrey Bloom, a former British member of the European Parliament (here and here) . Various statements and opinions are made in the video, but this article deals only with the primary claims.
“Locks and masks do not work”
Bloom says: “The World Health Organization (WHO) says exclusion does not work. Most independent medical science suggests that masks do not work, and how can they, a virus that is so small, usually get through the eyes, it’s a bit like keeping mosquitoes out with chicken wire. ‘(0.38)
It is misleading to claim that the WHO refutes the effectiveness of lock-ins as a way to fight COVID-19. The organization states on its website, last updated on 31 December 2020, that: ‘Large-scale physical distance measures and movement restrictions, often referred to as’ lockdowns ‘, can delay the transmission of COVID-19 by restricting contact between people.’
However, they recognize that ‘these measures can have a profoundly negative impact on individuals, communities and societies by putting an end to social and economic life’, so governments must also ‘build their capacity to detect, isolate, test and take care of all cases ”and“ locate and quarantine all contacts ”. (here)
In October 2020, former US President Donald Trump claimed that the WHO had changed its position on rejecting closures, but this was discouraged by fact-checkers, including Politifact (here) and the WHO itself (here).
“Exclusions are not sustainable solutions due to their significant economic, social and broader health consequences. However, during the # COVID19 pandemic, there were times when restrictions were needed and there may be other times in the future, ‘the organization said.
It is also wrong that most medical science indicates that masks do not work. He provides no supporting evidence in this video, but his website (godfreybloom.uk/your-health/) links to a 2015 study comparing the effectiveness of cloth masks with medical masks for health workers in 14 hospitals in Vietnam (here). The findings warned health workers against the use of cloth mask and suggested the need for further research.
However, this study is six years old and differs from the UK Government Advisory Recommending that the public wear face masks, which are not classified as personal protective equipment (PPE) used by health professionals (here).
Government guidelines recommend wearing face masks in indoor environments as the medical consensus is that it reduces transmission. The UK government website states that ‘COVID-19 is usually spread by drops of coughing, sneezing and talking’, and ‘the best available scientific evidence is that, if used correctly, a face mask can reduce the spread of coronavirus drops in certain circumstances. , help to protect others ”.
It adds “because face masks are primarily intended to protect others against coronavirus (COVID-19) rather than the carrier, it is not a substitute for social distance and regular hand washing.” (here).
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) also recommends wearing a mask “to protect others as well as yourself” and includes references to recent studies that have influenced their guidance (here).
An example of a recent article, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on February 10, 2021, reads: ‘Before the 2019 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), the effectiveness of wearing a community mask is to reduce the spread of respiratory infections was controversial because there was no fixed relevant data that could support its use. During the pandemic, the scientific evidence increased.
“Convincing data now show that wearing a community mask is an effective non-pharmacological intervention to reduce the spread of this infection, especially as a source control to prevent the spread of infected persons, but also as protection to reduce exposure to carriers of infection. . ” (here)
Reuters reports on 18 November 2020 that a Danish study ‘finds face masks offer the wearer only limited protection against COVID-19 infection’, in line with previous research which suggests’ a mask offers only limited protection for the person which it carries, but can reduce the risk to others (here) dramatically. This study was cited at the time as an argument against the use of face masks, but the study did not test the role of masks in preventing the spread of the virus by infected people to others in the area, the authors said.
‘Only 3900 people died of COVID’
Bloom continues: “If you look at the public health statistics … we know that out of a population of 65 million, only 3,900 people died with only COVID on the death certificate, so previously healthy.” (1.40)
This misleading remark probably refers to an NHS statistic that a total of 3,345 people without pre-existing health conditions died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began (select here the total deaths announced on 18 February 2021 weekly file, table 3 ‘ deaths on condition ‘). However, Reuters Fact Check explained earlier that deaths due to COVID-19 involving other conditions still ‘count’ as deaths due to the new coronavirus (here).
The issue is related to comorbidity, the existence of two or more conditions or diseases in a patient. It does not exclude COVID-19, but combines it with other diseases, often caused by the new coronavirus itself.
Dr Maja Artandi, medical director of the Stanford CROWN Clinic for COVID-19 patients (here), rejected a similar 2020 assertion that only 6% of COVID-related deaths in the US “died”. that it was ‘not a big surprise’. Most COVID-19 deaths involved other conditions.
This is because ‘patients with a comorbidity such as diabetes, high blood pressure or obesity are at greater risk of becoming seriously ill and dying from COVID-19.’ The numbers also correspond to the fact that the new coronavirus can ’cause serious damage to the organs in the body, such as the lungs, which then leads to respiratory failure and death.’
The most important thing to understand, dr. Artandi said, is that “if they had not contracted the infection … they would still be alive.” (Here.
Dr Tom Wingfield, senior clinical lecturer at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, also emailed Reuters: “Covid-19 – as a direct cause or as a major contributing factor – is responsible for the excess deaths that was seen in the United Kingdom in 2020. ” (here)
Fact Checks Full Fact investigated a similar allegation (here) and highlighted government research suggesting that each additional death during the first wave of the pandemic means that the person who dies averages about 10.5 years of life ( here) lost.
The British government has so far (here) recorded more than 120,000 deaths due to coronavirus.
Finally, Bloom claims that COVID-19 restrictions in Britain “have nothing to do with public health and everything to do with political control”. (6.11) However, all the available evidence shows that the number of cases and deaths of coronavirus has driven government decisions throughout the pandemic (here, here, here), while governments around the world have taken similar precautions (here).
VERDICT
Missing context. This video uses selective evidence taken out of context to question the risk posed by the new coronavirus and the effectiveness of measures to prevent its spread.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to actually check social media posts.