"I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning?" Trump said during the Thursday Coronavirus Task Force briefing, referencing the visual aid on recommended practices. "As you see, it gets in the lungs, it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that."
...WHAT pic.twitter.com/CCOYIsfSm7
— Pod Save America (@PodSaveAmerica) April 23, 2020
When asked whether there is any scenario in which a human being would need to inject themselves with a household disinfectant or related product, Bill Bryan, under secretary for Science and Technology at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), awkwardly dodged the question, noting that his lab would not perform such an experiment.
“We don’t do that within that lab,” he stated.
Without referencing the US president or the task force briefing, emergency room physician Dr. Sam Ghali advised netizens on Twitter against injecting or ingesting disinfectants to combat COVID-19.
Hi, ER Doc here.
— Sam Ghali, M.D. (@EM_RESUS) April 23, 2020
Do NOT inject or consume ANY disinfectants in an attempt to kill COVID19.
Eugene Gu, another medical doctor, issued a similar warning for those who may have pondered putting the US president’s words into practice.
“There is NO SUBSTANCE that will disinfect your body of the coronavirus from the inside,” he said in a Thursday evening tweet. “Don’t inject or drink bleach, soap, don’t do isopropyl alcohol, lysol, or ANYTHING WHATSOEVER.”
While the US president has received considerable backlash for his continued pushing of hydroxychloroquine to treat the novel coronavirus, at least the antimalarial medicine in question is an actual prescription-grade drug and not available for purchase at one’s local supermarket.
