The Washington Post reports:
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) recommended mouthwash as a treatment for the coronavirus during a town hall meeting Wednesday, immediately drawing criticism for suggesting gargling would offer protection.
The senator has been criticized for spreading conspiracy theories about the coronavirus and has promoted the use of drugs that have shown little to no evidence that they are effective in treating covid-19.
“Standard gargle, mouthwash, has been proven to kill the coronavirus,” Johnson said, according to an audio recording of his remarks. “If you get it, you may reduce viral replication. Why not try all these things?”
Read the full article.
Quite a headline: “A GOP senator suggested gargling mouthwash to kill the coronavirus. Doctors and Listerine are skeptical.” https://t.co/VHHNYAn0x8
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) December 9, 2021
JUST NOW: Ron Johnson, on a Wisconsin tele-town hall, pushes mouthwash as a COVID treatment.
“By the way, standard gargle, mouthwash, has been proven to kill the coronavirus. If you get it, you may reduce viral replication. Why not try all these things?” pic.twitter.com/V0cdxPYc7K
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) December 8, 2021
Listerine has explicitly stated that no research data proves that its mouthwash prevents or treats COVID-19. https://t.co/oH3LkpxXEk
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) December 9, 2021
“Raymond Niaura, interim chair of the epidemiology dept at NYU, said that gargling [mouthwash, as Ron Johnson suggested] wouldn’t hurt if accompanied by vaccination.
“’That way, one would be at reduced risk for infection and have good smelling breath.'”https://t.co/wgq7bGji3A
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) December 9, 2021