[출처 : 연합 AFP]Japan’s dramatic decline in the number of new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) cases is drawing global attention. While no one can clearly explain the cause of the sharp drop in the number of confirmed cases, fake news that the repellent ‘Ivermectin’ eradicated the corona virus in Japan in one day is also rapidly spreading online. Experts are urging people not to be deceived by fake news, saying that ivermectin’s efficacy against coronavirus has not yet been verified.
On the 23rd (local time), IFLScience, a foreign scientific media outlet, reported on social media that the claim that the corona infection disappeared almost overnight as Japan abandoned the distribution of vaccines and focused on treating the coronavirus with the repellent ivermectin. It is circulating, but this is not true at all.”
Japan has never stopped using the coronavirus vaccine and has not approved ivermectin as a treatment for coronavirus.
Recently, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Japan is showing an unbelievably sharp decline. According to Johns Hopkins University’s tally, the average number of new confirmed cases on the 7th of August, just three months ago, was 23,192 the day before, and the number of new cases decreased to 127 the day before. The number of daily new cases in Tokyo, once approaching 6,000, has recently fallen to single digits. Experts cite Japan’s higher vaccination rates as the biggest reason for the decline in the number of confirmed cases. As of the 24th, the completion rate of vaccination in Japan was 76.2%. However, even though Korea’s vaccination completion rate is 79.1%, which is higher than that of Japan, the number of confirmed cases in Korea surpassed 4,000 on that day, a new record high.
As a result, claims are circulating on social media that the recent decrease in the number of confirmed cases in Japan is due to the discontinuation of vaccination and the use of repellents. U.S. anti-vaccine opponents and conspiracy theorists claim that “Japan has proven that repellents defeat coronavirus in less than a month, but the U.S. government is relying on so-called vaccines without using a proper solution.” have.
AppleScience pointed out that the news that Japan stopped vaccinating was wrong. In August, Japan completely suspended 1.63 million doses of unused vaccines after a foreign substance was found in the Moderna vaccine. This fact is being conveyed as if Japan has not even been vaccinated.
The media said, “In August, there was a misinterpretation of the remarks made by Dr. Haruo Ozaki, the president of the Tokyo Metropolitan Medical Association, about the efficacy of repellents against Corona.” The government is not accepting this,” he said.
“While some initial trials had the potential to treat coronavirus with repellents, additional studies still have not shown that the drug provides any real benefit to people infected with COVID-19,” he said. bar,” he added.
[고득관 매경닷컴 기자]
[ⓒ 매일경제 & mk.co.kr, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
