The novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, has no doubt elicited fear and endless questions across the country—and the globe. Many different sources are sharing inaccurate information regarding symptoms, testing, preventive methods, and more. Below, you’ll find some of the most common myths about COVID-19 debunked by the Mayo Clinic.*

Myth #1: The reason there are spikes in COVID-19 cases is because of increased testing.

The rise in infections is not related to increased testing but rather indicates if there is an increase in the percentage of positive results, indicating that the virus is quickly spreading in our communities. COVID-19 testing allows people to quickly make decisions if testing positive, such as self-isolating and getting the treatment they need for a successful recovery. Widespread testing also allows city and county health departments to monitor the virus’ spread and make recommendations for schools and businesses.

Myth #2: Herd immunity is achieved by letting the virus spread throughout the population.

Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of a community, i.e., the herd, becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person less likely. To become immune, a large number of people would have to become infected to reach the herd immunity threshold, which experts believe to be 70% of the population. 

The idea is that this tactic could protect the whole community, but 70% of the population equates to 200 million people—some of whom could suffer from complications and/or death if infected. There is also a concern that, despite being exposed to the virus for the first time, a person may still be at risk of future infection.

Myth #3: Only the elderly are at risk of severe complications from the virus.

People of all ages have already contracted COVID-19. Elderly people aside, people of all ages who have other serious health problems, such as heart or lung conditions, weakened immune systems, severe obesity, or diabetes, have contracted the disease with severe complications. Every age group has been hospitalized because of the virus, and the average age of hospital patients with the coronavirus changes daily.

Myth #4: Deaths by COVID-19 are much lower than what the media is telling us.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) table showed that the majority of people who died of COVID-19 had multiple causes listed on their death certificate. Some of these causes included other pre-existing conditions, such as heart or lung conditions, weakened immune systems, severe obesity, and diabetes.

People with pre-existing conditions likely could have lived longer had they not contracted COVID-19. According to the CDC, “For deaths with conditions or causes in addition to COVID-19, on average, there were 2.6 additional conditions or causes per death.” 

Therefore, the risk of dangerous symptoms or death from COVID-19 may be increased for people who are older and for anyone who has a pre-existing condition. 

Myth #5: Cold weather and snow can kill COVID-19.

There is no scientific evidence to believe colder weather can kill COVID-19 or other viruses, as our normal human body temperature remains around 36.5-37 degrees Celsius (97.7-98.6 degrees Fahrenheit), regardless of the external temperature or weather.

Myth #6: COVID-19 is no different from the seasonal flu.

People with the flu and COVID-19 may experience similar symptoms, but these symptoms appear at different times. For example, COVID-19 symptoms generally appear two to 14 days after exposure whereas flu symptoms usually appear about one (1) to four (4) days after exposure.

Other ways COVID-19 differs from the flu are:

• Symptoms may include loss of taste and/or smell.
• It may be more contagious and spread more quickly than the flu. 
• Severe illness, such as lung injury, may become more frequent with COVID-19 than with influenza. 
• The death rate also appears to be higher with COVID-19 than the flu. 
• COVID-19 can cause different complications than the flu, such as blood clots and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.
• There are no antiviral drugs currently approved to treat COVID-19 like there are with the flu. 

Myth #7: If I wear a face mask in public, I don’t need a flu shot.

Wearing face masks, combined with other preventive measures, such as frequent hand-washing and social distancing, can help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus as well as the flu.

There is still a small chance of developing either virus after taking these measures. By getting the flu vaccine, we reduce the chances of people overburdening the healthcare system and reducing resources available for hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Since flu and coronavirus symptoms are similar, avoid unnecessary testing, self-isolation, or concern by preventing cases of influenza with a flu shot. Learn how and where to get your flu vaccination. 

*Mayo Health Clinic Staff. (2020, Nov. 3). COVID-19 myths debunked. Mayo Clinic Health System. https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/featured-topic/11-covid-19-myths-debunked 

Much about the novel coronavirus, i.e., COVID-19, is still not fully understood. As research progresses and our knowledge of the virus increases, information can change rapidly. We strive to update all of our articles as quickly as possible, but there may occasionally be some lag between scientific developments and our revisions.