TORONTO -- Among the letters, bills and coupons in their mailboxes, some Ontario residents have found a flyer claiming to expose the truth of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Titled 鈥淔acts Not Fear,鈥 the flyer is just more junk mail, says infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch.
鈥淚t鈥檚 garbage,鈥 he told CTV鈥檚 Your Morning on Friday.
But the challenge with some conspiracy theories is that there are often nuggets of accuracy hidden in the lies, he said.
鈥淯nfortunately with misinformation, you put in some partial truths that give it a little bit of credibility.鈥
Here鈥檚 how Bogoch debunked five key points in the flyer, which CTV Your Morning co-host Ben Mulroney received in his Toronto mailbox.
OVER 99 PER CENT SURVIVE
While it鈥檚 true that the infection fatality rate, which includes unrecorded cases, is probably around 0.3 to 0.5 per cent, the flyer downplays a serious health crisis, said Bogoch.
鈥淲hen you factor that [rate] in across 38 million Canadians, that鈥檚 over 150,000 dead Canadians. That鈥檚 unacceptably high,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e at 18,000 dead in Canada and that鈥檚 way too many. There鈥檚 more to this than surviving and dying.鈥
MOST INFECTED HAVE LITTLE OR NO SYMPTOMS
While it鈥檚 also true that many infected with COVID-19 exhibit very minor to mild symptoms, the flyer makes light of an incredibly infectious disease that has put a strain on Canadian health care.
鈥淥ur health care systems from coast to coast are stretched beyond capacity in many, many, many settings and it鈥檚 all related to COVID-19,鈥 said Bogoch.
In the country's largest province, more than 500 are being added to hospitals as Ontario ICUs . The strain has led to widespread cancellation of surgeries and other health care operations.
THE RELIABILITY OF PCR TESTS
The flyer claims that the PCR () tests for COVID-19 are 鈥渘otoriously unreliable.鈥 Not so, said Bogoch.
鈥淭he test itself, if it鈥檚 used appropriately, is like the mainstay,鈥 he told Your Morning. 鈥淔or non-COVID-19 infections, we use this test all the time as well. It has revolutionized medicine.鈥
While the tests are not completely foolproof, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) says false positive test results are "." Last August, Public Health Ontario reported that it had found a false positive testing rate of less than 0.01 per cent.
LOCKDOWNS ARE HARMFUL
It鈥檚 true that there is a potentially 鈥渢remendous toll鈥 associated with lockdowns and health, said Bogoch, but they aren鈥檛 always 鈥渦nnecessary,鈥 as the flyer claims. With good public health policy measures in place, they can be avoided, he added, but they are effective.
鈥淭here鈥檚 just a list longer than my arm of places that have done this successfully. It鈥檚 not ideal, but it actually works,鈥 he said.
A multi-country analysis of the efficacy of lockdowns published in the journal Applied Health Economics and Health Policy found that " in reducing the R0, i.e. the number of people infected by each infected person, and that, unlike what has been suggested in previous analyses, its efficacy continues to hold 20 days after the introduction of the policy."
FACE MASK EFFICACY
Face masks have been proven to help reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission, particularly in indoor settings, said Bogoch. The flyer suggests they are unnecessary and unhealthy.
鈥淚t鈥檚 garbage. Face masks help,鈥 he said. 鈥淏efore COVID-19, people who worked in an operating room have been wearing face masks all day, most of the day, for a century now and they鈥檙e doing just fine.鈥
A wide array of research over the last year (and indeed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic) has emphasized the efficacy of face masks in preventing transmission of disease. Public health guidance, though initially confusing to many, has evolved to follow the science, officials say.
Correction:
In an interview with CTV's Your Morning, Dr. Bogoch referred to the for COVID-19 likely being around 0.3 to 0.5 per cent, a figure that is so low because it includes estimates for unrecorded cases of COVID-19. The case fatality rate is higher (about 2.5 per cent) because it includes only recorded cases.
