Some Americans Are Tragically Still Drinking Bleach As A Coronavirus 'Cure'

TOPLINE

Despite months of warnings that it's unsafe, some Americans are still attempting to self-treat for coronavirus by drinking bleach products, prompting Georgia officials to send out a warning that doing so could be fatal.

KEY FACTS

CRITICAL QUOTE

"Chlorine dioxide products have not been shown to be safe and effective for any use, including treatment of COVID-19," the Georgia Department of Public Health said, adding, "Chlorine dioxide are the active ingredients in disinfectants and have additional industrial uses. They are not meant to be swallowed by people."

KEY BACKGROUND

Using household disinfectants to treat Covid-19 has become a troubling issue during the coronavirus pandemic, which hasn't been helped by President Donald Trump suggesting unproven remedies. At an April news conference, Trump wrongly suggested injecting disinfectant as a potential treatment, leading the makers of Lysol to release a statement saying "under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route)." Trump also took a regimen of hydroxychloroquine as a preventative measure against coronavirus, which was later shown to be ineffective against Covid-19.

BIG NUMBER

30. That's how many calls about consuming household disinfectants reportedly went to the New York City poison control center in the hours after Trump made his comments. That's more than twice the number of calls the poison control center handled on disinfectant consumption a year earlier.

TANGENT

A Florida family faces federal charges after prosecutors say they sold tens of thousands of bottles of "Miracle Mineral Solution," a toxic bleach that was marketed as a cure for Covid-19.

FURTHER READING

Officials say some Georgians treat COVID with bleach-like cleaner (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Dettol And Lysol Maker Warns Against Drinking And Injecting Disinfectant After Trump Suggestion (Forbes)

Florida Family Charged With Marketing 'Miracle' Coronavirus Cure That Was Textile Bleach (Forbes)

... Read More