This year, we fought hard to smash the rumors of the new crown
2021 is about to pass. During this year, humans have been fighting stubbornly against the new crown virus.
Delta, Lambda, Omi Keron... the cunning new crown virus "replaces vests" and "upgrades equipment" to attack humanity again and again.
Through the development and vaccination of vaccines, we have also gained the upper hand in the battle against the new crown virus.
Outside of the frontal battlefield, rumors about the new crown virus and the new crown vaccine have not stopped for a moment.
The stronger the new crown vaccination response, the better the immune effect; the veterinary drug ivermectin is the "magic drug" for the treatment of new crown pneumonia; the nucleic acid test fails to detect the delta virus... These rumors may be alarmist or exaggerated, and they have become the way to fight the epidemic. Stumbling block.
The flow pills stop at Ouyu, and the rumors stop at the wise.
At the end of the year, the Life Edition has specially counted the top ten rumors about the new crown epidemic in 2021 for readers, so as to brighten your eyes and clear up your doubts.
Prevention
Do I need to get rid of carcinogens before wearing a mask?
Masks produced by formal enterprises do not pose a cancer-causing threat
Wearing masks scientifically can effectively reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection. However, a recent video of "mask disinfection residues are a type of carcinogen, shake before wearing masks" has been widely circulated.
According to the video, the ethylene oxide residue in the mask is a first-class carcinogen. The 5 masks tested contain ethylene oxide. It is best to shake the mask in the air before wearing it. The ethylene oxide content has dropped significantly.
The truth: Zhu Lin, deputy chief physician of the Disinfection Department of the Beijing Chaoyang District Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that masks produced by regular companies can be used with confidence and will not be threatened by the carcinogenicity of ethylene oxide residues.
According to reports, ethylene oxide is an organic compound, and it is indeed a carcinogen. The production of masks generally requires an ethylene oxide sterilization process.
However, only a certain amount of ethylene oxide will be dangerous, and it does not cause cancer as long as it is exposed to it.
After the manufacturer has disinfected the mask, it will pack after the ethylene oxide has evaporated.
When masks leave the factory, they will also be tested for ethylene oxide, and they must meet national standards, that is, less than 10 micrograms/gram before they can be marketed.
"The outer packaging of the mask is not completely airtight. Ethylene oxide is a volatile substance. When the mask reaches the consumer through multiple processes, it basically does not contain residual substances that affect the human body." Zhu Lin said that the mask is in a sterile state when taken out of the package, and there is no need to deliberately expose it to the air.
Can salt water, tea, and vinegar eliminate the new coronavirus?
None of the three have the effect of preventing and treating new coronary pneumonia
At the beginning of this year, a message was swiped in the circle of friends: the new crown virus will stay in the throat for 4 days before it reaches the lungs.
During these 4 days, as long as you drink a lot of tea and rinse your mouth with warm salt water, tea, and vinegar, you can clear the new coronavirus.
The truth: Respiratory doctors said that there is no research evidence that the new coronavirus will stay in the throat for 4 days before entering the lungs.
The "New Coronavirus Pneumonia Diagnosis and Treatment Plan (Trial Eighth Edition)" issued by the National Health Commission in August 2020 pointed out: the new coronavirus is sensitive to ultraviolet rays and heat, ether, 75% ethanol, chlorine disinfectant, peracetic acid and Lipid solvents such as chloroform can effectively inactivate the virus.
These disinfection methods are all external disinfection, and the external disinfection mechanism is different from the internal disinfection mechanism.
Respiratory doctors said that the new coronavirus enters the human body through the respiratory tract, and the main part of the damage is the lungs.
The salt water gargle is good for cleaning the mouth and throat, and is helpful for curing pharyngitis.
But gargle cannot clean the respiratory tract, and there is no research to prove that salt water, tea and vinegar can kill the new coronavirus.
The World Health Organization also stated that there is currently no evidence to support the use of herbal teas or herbal supplements to prevent or cure new coronary pneumonia.
Is the veterinary drug ivermectin the "magic drug" for the treatment of new crowns?
Can not cure the new crown, it is dangerous to take a large amount
In October of this year, the news about "U.S., India and other countries using veterinary drug ivermectin to treat new coronary pneumonia" was spread.
For a time, ivermectin, a veterinary drug, was regarded as the "magic medicine" for the treatment of new coronary pneumonia.
The truth: Merck, one of the manufacturers of ivermectin, said that existing data does not support the use of the drug as a treatment for new coronary pneumonia.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also issued a statement to this end that ivermectin has not been approved for the treatment or prevention of new coronary pneumonia.
Taking this drug in large doses is dangerous and may cause serious harm.
Ivermectin is a broad-spectrum antiparasitic drug, which is mainly used to eliminate various parasites in the gastrointestinal tract of cattle, sheep, horses, pigs and other animals, as well as poultry gastrointestinal nematodes and ectoparasites.
It is a rumor that pushed this veterinary drug to the "sacred altar".
According to an article published in the journal Antiviral Research by the research team of Monash University in Australia, Ivermectin can inhibit the growth of the new coronavirus within 48 hours.
However, there is a prerequisite for this result-Ivermectin can inhibit the growth of the new coronavirus in in vitro experiments, but the mechanism of its effect on the new coronavirus is not clear, and there is no evidence that it can treat the new coronavirus in the human body. Effect.
Vaccines
Vaccination of mRNA vaccine will become a genetically modified person?
The mRNA vaccine cannot enter the nucleus
At the beginning of this year, when a large-scale vaccination of the new crown vaccine was carried out across the country, a chat record was posted on the Internet: mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) new crown vaccine can insert the virus gene into the human chromosome through reverse transcription, and the vaccinated person will become a genetically modified person. .
The truth: In this regard, Zhang Hongtao, associate professor of the Department of Pathology and Experimental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, said that the nanoparticle carrier of the mRNA vaccine only sends the virus gene fragments into the cytoplasm, and does not enter the nucleus at all.
It can't even enter the nucleus, let alone be integrated into the human genome.
The mRNA vaccine technology started in 1989. Previously, the technology was mainly used to treat cancer. This was the first time it was used on a large scale in the field of infectious disease prevention.
The new coronavirus vaccine under research basically uses the new coronavirus spike S protein as the antigen, and the mRNA vaccine is wrapped in nanoparticles through nanocarrier technology.
Scientific research has found that in today's human genome, about 8% of the genes come from viruses, and viruses with this ability are ancient retroviruses.
"The new coronavirus is an RNA (ribonucleic acid) virus, but not a retro RNA virus, so the genes of the new coronavirus will not be integrated into the human chromosome. This is common sense." Zhang Hongtao pointed out.
The stronger the vaccination response, the better the effect?
Adverse reactions are not directly related to immune effects
Carrying out new crown vaccination is an effective means to control the spread of the epidemic.
But the effect of the vaccine is invisible and intangible, so "wishful people" spread rumors on the Internet that "the stronger the vaccination response, the better the immune effect".
Truth: Many experts said that this statement is untenable.
The adverse reactions after vaccination with the new crown vaccine vary from person to person, and there are individual differences.
A strong response after vaccination does not mean that the immune effect is good, and there is no direct relationship between the two.
The occurrence of common adverse reactions after vaccination with the new crown vaccine is basically similar to that of other vaccines that have been widely used. The vast majority of them are general reactions, mainly manifested as local reactions such as redness, swelling, induration, and pain at the vaccination site, as well as systemic reactions such as fever and fatigue.
According to the monitoring of adverse reactions of my country's new coronary pneumonia vaccination released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention on May 28, the general reaction and abnormal reaction rates of this vaccine in my country are lower than the average reported levels of other types of vaccines in my country in 2019.
Shao Yiming, the chief expert and researcher of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, also refuted the rumor.
He said that the side effects of vaccination are not directly related to the immune response produced by the vaccine.
A strong side reaction does not mean that the immune system is strong. Whether there is a side reaction is related to the physique. For example, people with allergies will have a stronger side reaction.
Generally speaking, the incidence of side effects of the new coronary pneumonia vaccine is relatively low, but the protection rate of the vaccine is above 80%, which also shows that there is no inevitable relationship between the two.
The new crown vaccine is only valid for half a year?
At least half a year, the specific protection time limit is still under observation
This year, while the new crown vaccination is advancing throughout the country, there are rumors that the protection period of new crown vaccination is only half a year.
The truth: Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the protection period of the new crown vaccine is not only half a year.
Relevant departments are continuing to collect data on the antibody level of the vaccinated population and closely monitor their protective efficacy after vaccination.
The "Guiding Principles for Clinical Evaluation of New Coronavirus Preventive Vaccines (Trial)" issued by the National Medical Products Administration requires that the new coronavirus vaccine marketed in my country should provide at least 6 months of protection.
Yu Qingming, a representative of the National People’s Congress and chairman of Sinopharm Group Sinopharm Holdings, revealed at the two sessions this year that in March 2020, the group’s fourth-level party and government leaders "tested medicines by themselves". After one year of continuous antibody tracking and monitoring, his body is currently The antibody level is still at a high level, and there is no significant drop.
Of course, there are individual differences in the level of antibodies produced after the new crown vaccination.
The above-mentioned example of "testing the medicine by oneself" may not be enough to explain, but it sends a signal: the protection period of the new crown vaccine may be underestimated by some people.
"Half a year" is only the bottom line for product qualification and listing. How long is the protection period? Time will eventually give the answer.
The new crown virus will mutate, and the vaccine will be useless?
Vaccination can build a basic immune barrier
At the beginning of this year, at the beginning of the large-scale COVID-19 vaccination nationwide, many people had various concerns about vaccination.
Among them, "the current vaccine is only for the current epidemic of the new coronavirus, and the vaccine will be useless after the virus mutates" is recognized by many people.
The truth: Shao Yiming said that the new crown vaccine will not be in vain.
After the new crown vaccination is vaccinated, the basic immunity against the new crown virus will be established for the vaccinated.
Shao Yiming said that in the face of the new coronavirus variant, the level of neutralizing antibodies induced by the new coronavirus vaccine may decrease, that is, the protective efficacy of the vaccine may decrease.
However, as long as the vaccine is vaccinated, the vaccine will build basic immunity against the new coronavirus for the vaccinated.
Even if the ability of the virus variant strain to escape the vaccine barrier becomes stronger, a new variant strain vaccine can still be used as a booster shot.
In this way, the booster injection can quickly stimulate the body's immune protection against the mutant virus on the basis of the existing immunity.
In addition, according to the latest information released by the World Health Organization, from the global monitoring of the mutation of the new crown virus, there is no evidence that the existing new crown vaccine will be invalid in the face of the virus variant.
Virus
Nucleic acid test can not detect Delta virus?
Variant viruses can't escape the "legal eye" of nucleic acid detection
In July of this year, a new crown pneumonia epidemic broke out in Nanjing, and the culprit targeted the mutant strain of Delta.
There are rumors that the reason why the Nanjing epidemic has spread so widely is because the new crown variant strain can evade existing nucleic acid tests.
The truth: The State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering jointly established by the Ministry of Hubei University and Professor Chen Chunqi of the School of Life Sciences of Hubei University said that the delta strain is still mainly mutated from the original new coronavirus strain, and the main part of the mutation is It is the spike protein that binds to the receptor on the surface of the virus particle. Such mutations will not affect the results of nucleic acid detection. Therefore, nucleic acid detection is still the most effective method for detecting new coronaviruses.
Data shows that the new coronavirus is an RNA virus, that is, the viral nucleic acid wrapped in the virus particles is RNA, and the use of the sequence of the viral RNA and the human chromosome is different, and the presence of the virus can be detected by a specific nucleic acid detection method.
Ke Changwen, chief scientist of the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that nucleic acid testing is the current "gold standard" for the diagnosis of new coronary pneumonia cases. It can be detected 1 to 2 days before the onset of the infection and can still be detected 7 to 8 days after the onset of the disease. The nucleic acid is positive.
As a more mature diagnostic method, its test results are more reliable.
Does the new crown pneumonia epidemic have a two-month cycle?
Current data is insufficient, or just a coincidence
Since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the number of new cases has been increasing from time to time.
In October of this year, foreign media reported that since the spread of the new coronavirus in 2019, the number of infected cases will usually increase sharply for about two months, and then decrease for about two months.
Therefore, some people speculate that there is a mysterious two-month cycle in the spread of the new coronavirus.
The truth: Hu Bijie, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases, Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, said that the so-called two-month mysterious cycle law seems to be insufficient from a scientific point of view, and there is no statistical data from relevant academic papers to confirm this. It may just be A coincidence.
This conjecture was first proposed by the writer of the "New York Times" on social networks in early September this year.
Wang Xinyu, deputy chief physician of the Department of Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, believes that despite the ups and downs of the epidemic, the "two-month cycle" is not theoretically reasonable. Observing the curve of the value of new cases, the cycle cycle is not It is clear.
For example, Turkey's new crown pneumonia epidemic has a very short epidemic cycle, while the second epidemic cycle experienced by India's new crown pneumonia epidemic is obviously shorter than the first cycle. Brazil's epidemic changes are even less regular.
Experts said that whether the new crown pneumonia epidemic is repeated depends mainly on two points: one is the infectivity of the virus, and the other is human epidemic prevention measures.
In terms of viruses, the global new crown pneumonia epidemic in August this year experienced a large-scale recurrence, mainly due to the delta mutant strain. The most important feature is the rapid spread.
In terms of epidemic prevention measures, although different vaccines have great differences in their effectiveness in preventing infections, and they all face the problem of gradual decline in their effectiveness over time, all vaccines still maintain a relatively high effectiveness in preventing severe illness.
Zhang Boli, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, believes that in fact the new crown virus has been mutating, some cannot spread, and some become dominant strains, such as Delta.
"Virus mutation is a normal state, and the law of mutation is still under study. Vaccines are still an effective means to fight viruses. However, compared with virus mutations, vaccines are still passive'running after the virus.' We hope we can take the initiative to attack. Actively study the law of virus evolution and develop a wider-spectrum vaccine." He said.
Singapore found that the new coronavirus is a radiation bacterium?
Its viral properties have been certified globally
In September of this year, an alarmist news appeared on the Internet.
According to sources, Singapore is the first country in the world to conduct an autopsy on the bodies of patients with new coronary pneumonia.
After an autopsy, they found that the new coronavirus is not a virus, but bacteria exposed to radiation. These bacteria clot in the blood and cause human death.
The truth: The official website of the Ministry of Health of Singapore issued a rumor: Singapore has not conducted such an autopsy. The rumor stated false information about the pathophysiology of the new crown virus infection, which has not been confirmed.
According to the official website of the World Health Organization, COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus.
According to my country's "New Coronavirus Pneumonia Diagnosis and Treatment Plan (Trial Eighth Revised Edition)" released on April 14, 2021, the new coronavirus belongs to the beta genus of coronaviruses with a diameter of 60 to 140 nanometers.
In addition, the first country in the world to conduct autopsy on patients with new coronary pneumonia is China.
According to reports, the "Journal of Forensic Medicine" released the world's first anatomy report on the remains of a patient with new coronary pneumonia on February 25, 2020. This report is the result of the team of Professor Liu Liang from the Department of Forensic Medicine of Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology.
On February 16, 2020, in accordance with the relevant provisions of national laws and policies, Liu Liang's team took the lead in the country to carry out the anatomy of the remains of patients with new coronary pneumonia.
Our reporter Chen Xi