Yesterday, Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura claimed that gargling with diluted povidone-iodine solution prevents patients with mild covid-19 symptoms from getting seriously ill. Experts do not agree.
According to the Governor, an Osaka study found that gargling four times a day with the solution resulted in reduced positive covid-19 tests in 41 patients to just 9.5% after four days. This study seems rather thin. But during the press conference, the Governor had an array of these gargle disinfectant products lined up for a photo opportunity.
These claims, which have not been corroborated, inevitably caused panic buying and the solutions to sell out at drugstores in Japan. As you can see below, popular gargle disinfection brands like Isojin have been cleared from shelves.
イソジン争奪戦始まってた！！！#イソジン#ポビドンヨード pic.twitter.com/OZJ0sw1GqN
— あこち (@akochi_akochi) August 4, 2020
近くのドラッグストア行ったら、イソジン他うがい薬全てなくなってました。。
店員さんに聞いたら今日の午後買い占めがあったとか。。
納品未定のようです。ほんとやめて欲しい。#買い占め #うがい薬 pic.twitter.com/Jm0wQzJ5bU— 洋梨お尻のリチャ???????? (@CHOBI58580) August 4, 2020
スーパーではすでに売り切れてました#うがい薬 pic.twitter.com/xmCfqtq87p
— まっこり (@makko__ri__YUKI) August 4, 2020
売り切れ。#イソジン#ポビドンヨード #うがい薬 pic.twitter.com/Dl73ZdpDVM
— 平野しいちゃん (@sho_shi0129) August 4, 2020
I feel ashamed to be from the same country as those people????#イソジン#うがい薬 pic.twitter.com/HcXCQ2Qj0s
— FÜN HYPE (@fun_hype) August 5, 2020
Jerks have been selling the gargle solution marked up online, with $US4.50 ($6) bottles going for three or four (or more!) times higher than their original prices.
みんなすごいですね。
登録販売者の資格持ってるなんて。
じゃないと医薬品販売は違法ですからね。#コロナ#うがい薬#常識 pic.twitter.com/6oR4AQEpEF— (個ツイFFさん投票のみ)kokona????????????(0時以降携帯禁止！) (@Kokona_smile128) August 4, 2020
皆…聞いて
この売り切れ欄にあるほとんどのイソジン(クリアなど)
ポピドンヨード配合ではないです
そもそもポピドンヨード配合のイソジンは売れません。犯罪に該当します。
うがいはいいことですが、このような買い方は無意味です。#ポビドンヨード #イソジン pic.twitter.com/JAX8iRfkEG— ネルモン@0 (@rYIJIvYhZUUQDf4) August 4, 2020
However, as Bloomberg reports, the Japan Medical Association said there was not enough evidence to support Yoshimura’s claims.
“I understand that the governor must be very concerned about the sudden growth of cases in his region and is looking for some positive news,” said Association president Toshio Nakagawa. “I don’t intend to attack the claim as being inappropriate, but the position of our organisation is that we should keep calm and research it.”
In Japan, the WHO tweeted out an image stating claims that iodine gargle solution worked against covid-19 had no basis in science. The WHO also included a “#Mythbusters” tag.
Leave a Reply