Don’t Inject Bleach (Sigh)

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Did the President just tell people to inject himself with bleach? Not entirely true . But he did wonder out loud – and in front of the camera! – about whether it might work. In doing so, he taught us a great lesson on why intuition cannot be used to extrapolate laboratory laboratory results.

The fiasco happened last night at a press conference ( transcript here ), administration spokesman Bill Brian presented some findings on the effectiveness of temperature, humidity, ultraviolet light, bleach and rubbing alcohol in killing coronavirus in a laboratory. Brian has military and logistical background and is currently the head of the Science and Technology Division of the Department of Homeland Security.

Brian presented the following results (all quotes are taken directly from the White House transcript):

We are also testing available disinfectants. We tested bleach, we tested isopropyl alcohol for the virus, especially in saliva or respiratory fluids. And I can tell you that bleach will kill the virus in five minutes; Isopropyl alcohol will kill the virus in 30 seconds, and this is without any manipulation, without friction – just spray it on and release it. You rub it in and it goes away even faster. We are also investigating other disinfectants, in particular the COVID-19 virus in saliva.

Note that “in saliva” means they are looking at the virus in droplets of saliva on a surface or in aerosols. Not in a human body. He also discussed temperature, humidity and UV radiation:

And thirdly, the virus dies most quickly under these conditions in direct sunlight. And when you – when you look at this chart, look at the aerosol, when you breathe it in; you put it in a room, from 70 to 75 degrees, humidity 20 percent, low humidity, enough – half-life about an hour. But you go outside and that is reduced to one and a half minutes. A very significant difference when exposed to UV rays.

It is extremely important to learn more about how long the virus lives on various surfaces and what can be done to affect its survival. During our conversation yesterday with epidemiologist and infection prevention specialist Saskia Popescu, many of you had questions about how worried we should be about the virus on surfaces around us and in the air. The same question appears on the DHS Science and Technology Master’s List .

But experiments only give a narrow answer to the questions. We have confirmed that bleach (in a specific formulation, applied in a specific way) can reduce the amount of virus present on surfaces. Great! But that doesn’t mean you can destroy the understanding that “bleach kills the coronavirus” and apply it to all other contexts. Including, as you know, the inside of the human body.

I mean, there are some weird things that can happen in our body. But if you want to know which scientists are considering trials as a cure, you should ask scientists to tell you about it. The President began with bewilderment. And Brian, who is neither a microbiologist nor a physician, did not completely reject the idea. It is unclear if this is because he did not understand Trump’s point of view, or simply because he was put in his place and did not know what to say.

CHAIR: Thank you very much. So I asked Bill a question that some of you are probably wondering if you are totally into this world, which I find very interesting. So, suppose we hit the body with strong light – be it ultraviolet light or just very powerful light – and I think you said it wasn’t tested, but you’re going to test it. And then I said, suppose you brought light into the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way, and I think you said you were going to test that too. Sounds interesting.

UNDER SECRETARY BRIAN: We’re going to reach out to those people that could.

CHAIR: Right. And then I see a disinfectant, where it knocks out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way to do something like this – by injection inside or almost by cleaning. Because you can see that it gets into the lungs and acts on the lungs in huge quantities. So it would be interesting to check it out. So, with this you will have to go to the doctors. But it sounds interesting to me.

So let’s see. But the very concept of light, the way it kills it in one minute, is very powerful.

We live in a pandemic. People are scared and desperate, and most of us are completely devoid of a sense of control over our daily health and circumstances. We don’t know exactly where the virus is right now and how risky each of our actions and potential impacts are. Even doctors treating COVID-19 are still figuring out the full spectrum of its symptoms and figuring out how best to treat the infection. Things are new and mysterious, and we were told that the best we can do is just sit at home and wash our hands.

This is the ideal situation to induce desperate people to take desperate measures to feel in control. Using chloroquine as an example, we saw that if the president proposes a drug that is promising, a huge number of people will do their best to get it, even if it is a prescription drug. People were poisoned , and patients who had already taken the drug for other illnesses were warned that a shortage of it meant they might have to stop .

Therefore, when the president ponders the methods of treatment that are even easier for people to try at home – bleach, alcohol, ultraviolet radiation – it seems like another recipe for disaster. A few weeks ago, I heard about a man gargling with rubbing alcohol. Most recently, USA Today reported that Christine Cuomo bathed in diluted bleach while recovering from COVID-19. (Whitening baths are sometimes recommended for eczema , so it is not as dangerous as it might seem. However, check with a real doctor before using any household chemicals on yourself.)

Reporters at the briefing were skeptical:

Q. But I – just, may I ask – the President mentioned the idea of ​​cleansers like bleach and isopropyl alcohol that you mentioned. There is no script that a person could enter, right? I mean –

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY BRIAN: No, I’m here to share the findings of the study. We will not do this in this laboratory and in our laboratory. So –

CHAIR: That wouldn’t be an injection. It’s about almost cleaning, sterilizing the site. It may or may not work. But it certainly has a big impact if it is in a stationary facility.

Notice that the President said a few minutes earlier, “By injection inside.” However, does this mean that people will now consider applying bleach or alcohol to their skin? (Please, do not do that.)

Experiments with heat, humidity and ultraviolet light have also been subject to a similar misinterpretation: it is scientifically good to know if a hot, humid, and sunny surface is less hospitable to the virus than a cold or closed one. He can tell us if playgrounds are relatively safe. This data can tell us, maybe in the summer an outdoor birthday party will be a little less risky than an indoor party.

But it also plays a role in the existing speculation about how summer weather could somehow save us from the current pandemic. (There is no reason to believe that this will be so.) The President returned to this idea, correctly qualifying it, saying that he was only talking about surfaces. Okay, okay. But in the context of an elected official speaking to a public looking for reasons to be optimistic, it definitely sounds like he’s making people think summer is going to be safe and that treatments based on heat, light and disinfectants are just around the corner.

Q: Yes, Mr. President, after the presentation we just saw about heat and humidity, is it dangerous for you to make people think they will be safe going outside in the heat, given that so many people are dying in Florida? considering that the outbreak of this virus occurred in Singapore, in hot and …

CHAIR: Yes, we go.

Q – wet?

CHAIR: Let’s go. New – new headline: Trump Asks People to Go Out. This is dangerous “. Like this. The same old group. Are you ready? I hope people like the sun. And if it does, that’s great. I’m just hearing it — not the first time. I mean, there was a rumor that – you know, a very good rumor – that you go outside in the sun or it’s warm, and that does affect other viruses.

But now we get it from one of the greatest laboratories in the world. I have to say that it covers a much larger area than that. This … this is probably an easy thing, relatively speaking, for you.

I would like you to speak with the doctors to see if there is a way to heal with light and heat. You know – but if you could. And maybe you can, and maybe you can’t. Again, I say, maybe you can, or maybe you can’t. I am not a doctor. But I am like a person who has good, you know what.

Q But sir, you are the president.

CHAIR: Deborah, have you ever heard of this? Warmth and light in relation to some viruses – yes, but in relation to this virus?

DR. BIRKS: Not as a cure. I mean, of course, a fever –

CHAIR: Yes.

DR. BIRX: – a good thing. When you have a fever, it helps your body respond. But not how – I didn’t see the warmth or (inaudible).

CHAIR: I think it’s nice to look at. I mean, you know. Good?

Q But respectfully, sir, you are the president. And people tuning in to these briefings want information and guidance and want to know what to do.

CHAIR: Hey, hey, Phil.

Q: They are not looking for rumors.

CHAIR: Hi Phil. I am the president and you are fake news. And you know what I’ll tell you? I will say it very well. I know you are good.

Q Why do you say that?

CHAIR: I know you well.

Because I know this guy; I see what he is writing. He’s a complete pretender.

Q: He is a good reporter.

CHAIR: So are you ready? You are ready? You are ready? It’s just a suggestion from a brilliant laboratory by a very, very smart, possibly brilliant person. He talks about the sun. He talks about the heat. And you see the numbers. Well, that’s all; That is all I have. I’m here to present talent. I’m here to submit ideas because we need ideas to get rid of this. And if warmth and sunshine are good, that’s great for me.

You cannot speculate about possible treatments and give people reason to believe they can be safe and then absolve themselves of responsibility with attacks and warnings.

So to make it clear:

Stay safe there.

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