#ListenToTheExperts Want to know if the BCG vaccine protects you against Covid-19?

#ListenToTheExperts Want to know if the BCG vaccine protects you against Covid-19?

Want to know if the BCG vaccine protects you against Covid-19?
Dr Florette Treurnicht heads the medical virology departments at the NHLS & Wits. She shares her insights on this.

Medical scientist Dr Florette Treurnicht described some of the concerns she has around the COVID-19 Coronavirus.

One of the concerns is the dissemination of fake news.

“The biggest concern is around the information that is circulating that the sampling kits being used are not sterile and that they are contaminated. That is not true. Every sampling holder or swab comes within a packet or container and it is only used once for a person to be sampled. After, those materials get discarded as biohazardous waste,” she said.

Another concern is around the use of medical-grade masks by members of the public.

“A lot of people are still wearing surgical masks or the N95 masks. It is not easy to breathe through it so what happens is that people are handling it so often because they want to speak or they don’t get enough air…and handling that mask actually puts you at a greater risk. When we are wearing a mask, you want something that is comfortable and breathable.”