There is no easy fix for the coronavirus crisis
Beware simple solutions for complex problems.
I’m a cancer researcher and at every family gathering — without fail — someone asks me, “So have you cured cancer yet?” It’s said in jest but the underlying implications are clear: what’s taking so long? Why are so many still dying of this disease when all these smart scientists have been working on it for decades? The answer is: because it’s incredibly complicated. But some people have a hard time accepting that, especially when a loved one is suffering, so they turn to the internet for a more satisfying answer and the internet provides. It offers up quack home remedies (Alkaline diet! Hydrogen peroxide! Vitamin B17!) and elaborate conspiracy theories to explain why these “cures” have been hidden from the public (Big Pharma! Greedy doctors! Follow the money!). Desperate people cling to unproven treatments because it makes them feel like they have control over the situation, and they buy into the conspiracy theories because the alternative — that there simply is no universal cancer cure — is too frightening to live with. And now we’re seeing the same story play out on a grand scale in the time of coronavirus. The stakes are higher in the context of an infectious disease though. A cancer patient whose actions are guided by pseudoscience is a danger only to oneself. A coronavirus carrier armed with misinformation could infect many others who in turn infect even more people, and then we’re looking at an exponential rate of spread. That’s why it’s more important than ever to be skeptical when faced with a seemingly simple solution, an easy home remedy, or a magic bullet cure.
I’ve been keeping a running list of the quack coronavirus home remedies I’ve come across: gargle water with salt or vinegar, blast your throat with a hot blow dryer, put exactly seven peppercorns under your tongue, eat sauerkraut to maintain a healthy gut. Claims like these are usually spread by people with genuine altruistic intentions. The common theme among these solutions is they all involve items you probably already have in your home. There’s no way to profit off of these remedies financially (unless you’re heavily invested in Big Peppercorn). It’s comforting to think that you can rid yourself of the virus with a quick gargle or a mouthful of sauerkraut, and why not share it with friends and family on the off chance it works? This kind of misinformation is relatively harmless, but it might give someone a false sense of security. “I don’t need to wear a mask at the grocery store because my body is protected by the power of peppercorns!” You can see how this could be a problem. The truth is, the cure to coronavirus does not live in your pantry, your medicine cabinet or under the sink. No other virus has ever been eradicated so easily, and this one will not be any different.
The more pernicious coronavirus miracle cures are the ones with a profit motive behind them. An enterprising grifter would never let a situation like this go to waste: so many scared people to separate from their money. We’re less than two months into the pandemic and the FDA has already warned seven companies to stop selling products, including colloidal silver, teas, essential oils and herbal supplements, that claim to prevent or cure the coronavirus. The pitch for these kinds of products is always the same: it’s natural/holistic/homeopathic, it will clear toxins from your body, it will boost your immune system, it has anti-microbial properties, it promotes wellness. But the truth is, there is very little accountability for the wellness industry. Dietary supplements, for example, are considered safe by the FDA until proven unsafe, unlike pharmaceuticals, which must be proven safe in clinical trials before getting approval. And since there’s no controlled system for reporting the adverse effects of supplements, it could be awhile before the FDA catches onto a dangerous product. Moreover, companies don’t even have to prove their product is what they say it is. As long as they don’t go too far with their health claims (i.e. this product cures a specific disease) then they’re free to sell you that $60 mystery supplement every month. It probably won’t kill you but it will empty your wallet if you’re not careful, and it almost certainly isn’t going to prevent or cure COVID-19.
In addition to altruism and greed, there is another motive behind the propagation of unproven coronavirus cures: politics. That’s why the CDC’s Field Epidemiology Manual indicates that the lead spokesperson during a public health crisis should be a scientist, not a politician. The spokesperson’s job is to communicate important health information to the public and must be trusted to tell the unvarnished truth, even if it’s politically damaging to the administration. Unfortunately, the president seems to have appointed himself lead spokesman for the coronavirus taskforce, sidelining trusted doctors like Anthony Fauci. This has resulted in an extremely polarized response to every new piece of information about the pandemic. For example, the president hyped hydroxychloroquine for weeks as a “game-changer” and potential cure for COVID-19, even though there was scant evidence for its effectiveness.
Trump supporters have clung to this idea, citing seriously flawed clinical trials as vindication of the president’s instincts. On the other end of the political spectrum, liberals recently pounced on a retrospective study from the VA that suggested the drug was actually increasing the likelihood of death for COVID-19 patients (the most likely explanation for this disturbing result is that doctors chose to administer the drug to their sickest patients). The truth about hydroxychloroquine is probably somewhere in between: so far it appears to not have any meaningful effect on COVID-19 progression. But don’t hold your breath waiting for the president to tell you that: he wants us to believe that the cure is right around the corner because it would benefit him politically. Wouldn’t it be great if a little sunlight could cure the coronavirus? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the disinfectants under your sink could clear the virus from your lungs? Wouldn’t it be amazing if the virus just “disappeared” like a “miracle” when the weather warms up? If you buy what Spokesman Trump is selling, you’ll be more comfortable participating in the newly reopened economy. If the economy bounces back in the next few months, President Trump could be well on his way to reelection. So take what he has to say with a grain of salt. He has a history of offering simplistic solutions to intractable problems (the “wall,” Middle East peace, Chinese tariffs), as if these ideas have never occurred to anyone before. But he isn’t smarter than all the experts who have tackled these issues in the past, he’s just more willing to say what his base wants to hear for the sake of political expediency. So the next time a politician/pundit/talking head touts a new potential coronavirus treatment, or shoots one down, consider their political motivations.
So who CAN we go to for accurate information about the coronavirus? Your best bet is to look to experts, doctors, and scientists. We’re certainly not immune to bias, but we try to keep each other honest through rigorous peer review. Right now, the science surrounding the coronavirus is growing and changing at a rapid pace. You are probably being bombarded with new information everyday, sometimes contradicting what you heard yesterday. To keep up with all the new data, journals are publishing scientific articles in record time, and researchers are uploading manuscripts to pre-print servers at a magnitude never seen before. Unfortunately, the peer-review process is playing catch up at the moment, which is why you might notice a lot of scientists arguing about this or that study in the public sphere. Rest assured, once the dust settles there will be a clearer picture of the enemy we are facing. It’s highly unlikely that we will discover a silver bullet to combat this disease because biology is complicated, but as we accumulate more and more knowledge about how the virus functions and what it does to the body, we will discover better ways to prevent and treat COVID-19.
Until then, be skeptical. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Just like COVID-19, memes spread like a virus. Break the chain of transmission by choosing not to share a dubious post, or even better, do your homework and correct the record for your friends and family. Don’t allow yourself to be fooled by grifters taking advantage of the crisis. At this moment there is no proven prophylaxis or treatment for the coronavirus. It’s not super compelling, but the best way to boost your immune system is to eat well, exercise regularly and maybe take a daily vitamin C supplement. And finally don’t let the headlines give you whiplash: tune out if you need to. There’s no need to follow every little development when the science is still evolving.
