FALSE: DO NOT SHARE
Claim:
Potassium iodide can be used as an antiviral antiseptic to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Answer:
Unconfirmed. Iodide has not been proven to work against COVID-19.
FURTHER INFORMATION
A video on YouTube shows a talk show on 3ABN, which is a Seventh-day Adventist Christian television programme. The presenters discuss the religious and physical considerations of the coronavirus outbreak, including what people can do to help prevent themselves contracting the coronavirus [SARS-CoV-2] that causes Covid-19. One of the presenters speaks with dietician Dr Wes Youngberg about the antiviral benefits of using potassium iodide forte solution to treat the coronavirus.
This is unconfirmed, it is not known whether potassium iodide solution is an effective disinfectant against the coronavirus. The WHO recommends washing hands thoroughly with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Iodine can be used in a liquid form to help treat and prevent infections by killing bacteria in and around mild cuts and scrapes. Studies with povidone iodine solution show that it can be an effective skin cleanser and surgical scrub, with suggestions that it inactivates other similar members of the coronavirus family (SARS-coV and MERS-coV). Iodine has not been scientifically confirmed by one of the major health institutions as an effective disinfectant against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
SOURCES
World Health Organization (WHO): Clean hands protect against infection
Healthline: 11 uses for Iodine
British Dental Journal: Povidone iodine
University of Georgia: Cleaning your home (and hands) during COVID-19
Origins of Claim
FULL TEXT OF CLAIM
“This is a little bottle of liquid iodine forte… We have put a little sprayer on the bottle, which has iodine, which of course is a great anti-viral and stuff. One of the things that Dr Youngberg taught me to do was just spray this up in the air above me and let it come down on my face and get into my eyes… This is a unique little simple thing that can be done that helps prevent, like if you touch your face or you get it [coronavirus] on your face, the simple use of iodine… One of the nice things about iodine is it is very broad spectrum, and bacteria and fungi don’t have the opportunity to become resistant to iodine… by breathing it into your lungs, it helps kill viruses.”
