Just the Facts

Chava Ruderman, a graduate of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, is a board-certified internist currently completing a second residency in public health and preventive medicine. She is a medical advisor for the COVID Plasma Initiative.  Aliza Rubenstein holds a PhD in quantitative biomedicine with primary research interests in host-based diagnostic assays; the lab she is in is currently researching diagnosis of COVID-19. She has been involved in the COVID Plasma Initiative since its inception.

It’s been months since we first encountered the coronavirus and by now we’re all battle-hardened, weary, and anxious. We see no end in sight and uncertainty on all sides.

We hear opposing narratives and conflicting guidance on an hourly basis. When will this be over? When will we finally return to a normal life? And until then — how do we proceed?

Given the novelty and unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical guidance has undergone numerous shifts as new data shapes directives. At the same time, getting our news online or on social media leads to a rise in misinformation that can easily “go viral.” Here are some common myths that we have all been hearing, contrasted with the latest scientific information that is available to us.