Injecting disinfectants and UV rays as coronavirus treatment

Quinn Luong ’22

On April 23rd, during a press conference, President Donald Trump suggested that disinfectant products and ultraviolet light rays could perhaps be “injected” or put inside human bodies in order to treat COVID-19.

     “Supposing we hit the body with a tremendous — whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light,” Mr. Trump said. “And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body, either through the skin or some other way.”

    It is widely known that disinfectants kill human cells and can make people extremely sick, or even in rare cases cause them to die.

      Although many people believe the chemical disinfectants that kill viruses and bacteria on our kitchen counters can be applied to SARS-CoV-2, it is obviously deadly to inject these products into the human body. 

     For example, while bleach is a potent disinfectant, as it is a powerful oxidizing agent, and even limited contact of bleach to human skin can be toxic and even fatal.

     Trump has also supported the medical drug, hydroxychloroquine, as an effective treatment to deal with SARS-CoV-2. 

President Donald J. Trump addresses reporters Saturday, April 4, 2020, White House Press Briefing Room. – Official White House photo by Andrea Hanks via Wikimedia Commons

     “I’m not a doctor, but I have common sense. The FDA feels good about it… it’s been out there for a long time, and they know the side effects and they also know the potential,” Mr. Trump said. 

     However, Dr. Anthony Fauci has repeatedly said there’s not enough evidence to support using hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment.

     So, what is the danger of President Trump’s comments? 

     According to the Maryland state government, more than 100 people called the state’s emergency hotline asking about ingesting bleach. 

     There are reports of people ingesting bleaches, isopropyl alcohol, and hand sanitizer, and suffering the toxic effects of mixing chemical cleaning agents together and creating poisonous gases. 

     Most people are now cynical about President Trump’s comments. If disinfectant therapies were safe and effective in humans, the medical community would be the first to advocate for their use. 

   On social media and globally, Twitter users mocked President Trump as “malignant” and labeled him a “narcissist.” Nevertheless, how is the Haverford community responding to the controversial stances? 

Let’s let the doctors handle and distribute medical advice.

   “Even though Trump says his uncle is a doctor, it doesn’t make him one too. So why would one take Trump’s medical advice over a certified medical doctor? It doesn’t add up,” Fourth Former Alexander Colucci said. 

  Let’s let the doctors handle and distribute medical advice. It is not the position of the president to do so.

Author: Quinn Luong '22

Quinn Luong has contributed to The Index since 2019. He currently serves as News Editor, and he has also written features and campus opinions. Quinn won the Pennsylvania School Press Association (PSPA) Philadelphia-area Student Journalism Competition for Newspaper News Story Writing and will compete for the state title in the Spring of 2020. His article "Teachers prepare for Virtue Villagers" earned a Silver Key from the Philadelphia-area Scholastic Writing competition. Outside of The Index, Quinn is a member of the Diversity Alliance, the Pan-Asian Alliance, debate and speech, and Model UN. His favorite classes are English, Spanish, and Chinese.