5 Myths About COVID-19

Just so sick of it? Us too, but confusion gone viral makes people even sicker.

- By Kate Rockwood

MYTH #1 Now that so many have had it, it's weaker and just like the flu.

MYTHBUSTER Nope. In just one year, 2021, more than 460,000 Americans died from COVID-19. That's over 100,000 more deaths than in the previous 10 flu seasons combined. "COVID is still more severe," says Kawsar Talaat, M.D., an assistant professor in the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. And while Omicron may be milder for some, it has killed more people because of how contagious it is. For comparison, if you have the flu, on average you infect one or two other people; that number is thought to be seven for the Delta variant of COVID-19, and estimates for Omicron are 1.5 to 2 times as high. Besides, COVID can cause long-term organ damage on top of the pneumonia, inflammation, and heart injury the flu causes. "Long COVID syndrome and cognitive issues with COVID are also things we don't see with the flu," Dr. Talaat says. In short, it's best not to get infected, or reinfected.

MYTH #2 If you're the only one wearing a mask, it doesn't protect you.