Is There a Doctor in the Administration?
And so yesterday, it can to pass that Trump suggested that people could fight the coronavirus by using ultraviolet light or shining powerful lights into their body -- or by ingesting bleach, disinfectants or isopropyl alcohol, better known as rubbing alcohol.
No, really. This is not The Onion. It's not a Saturday Night Live sketch. (Though likely will be, even with their isolate-at-home restrictions.) It's not just a bad dream. It's very real. And ghastly that Trump went around asking each doctor as his press briefing if it was something they could look into. They had to be mortified, though no one shouted out, "THIS IS INSANE, IT WILL ALL KILL PEOPLE." Instead, they sort of mumbled that yes, testing ultraviolet rays can be looked into. And yes, testing for powerful light can be looked into. Though even they had enough and were silent when Trump asked about testing for using disinfectant and bleach. He clearly caught on that there was no "Yes" forthcoming, but turned back to the microphone -- with the big "The White House" seal behind him, giving a sense of Authority -- and comment how it was a very interesting idea. Very interesting.
It’s just inexplicable. While I can understand the doctors sitting there not saying anything about being outraged in front of him at that moment, I sure hope they are asked at tomorrow’s press conference, because they have to express how dangerous this is – because otherwise there will be people who try taking bleach and disinfectants and die.
What was fascinating in all the press coverage I read is that almost everything made the story not about what a horrific suggestion this was, but about taking the opportunity to warn people Not To Do this.
Speaking of which, just because I think it's required to say this in every article on the subject -- Please, no one, do not try this at home. Do not try it even if Trump decides to try it out first. It is very dangerous. And "The White House" seal behind him doesn't make it any less so. It makes it sick, ignorant and borderline criminal.
Social media was falling over itself. This tweet from Dr. Rachel Ann Bender Ignacio expressed very well what was covered in most.
"If you are reading this: DO NOT ingest or inhale bleach or isopropyl alcohol. Not only does this have a good chance of killing you within hours, it could severely damage brain, eyesight and lungs. Please do not act on these musings that are NOT APPROVED by TOXICOLOGISTS."
Most of the responses from the media, doctors and public focused on the bleach, disinfectants and rubbing alcohol, because that's the part that's most blatantly obvious and accessible. But make no mistake, suggesting UV rays or “really powerful light” is almost as bad – the only reason it’s better is because people don’t have equipment for UV rays sitting around in their kitchen. But just to be better informed (what a concept, I know, when dealing with someone like Trump in charge...) I read up a little on the subject, and it’s insane. In short, there are three types of UV rays -- the most common A and B and the rare, powerful C. And yes, it’s believed that UVC rays may work as a disinfectant in the air and on surfaces – but for God's sake, not on human bodies, let alone inside them! It can kill you just like ingesting or injecting bleach.
Dan Arnold is an expert who works for UV Light Technology in the United Kingdom. The company provides disinfecting equipment to hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and food manufacturers. He was interviewed for an article and said --
“UVC is really nasty stuff – you shouldn't be exposed to it. It can take hours to get sunburn from UVB, but with UVC it takes seconds. If your eyes are exposed… you know that gritty feeling you get if you look at the sun? It’s like that times 10, just after a few seconds.”
It's remotely possible that UVA and UVB may be able to disinfect. But that's "disinfect" the surface of objects -- not by shining a powerful light inside you!
If you didn't see Trump's suggestion, it's worse than my typing the words. Because you can see he's so blithely nonchalant of it all and so ignorantly certain he's brilliant. And you can see and hear the doctors off to the side. Probably begging that they're not called on individually. Though you're waiting for them to leap up and scream bloody murder. Literally.
And here are those same words again. I don't offer them so that they are drilled into your consciousness in case you didn't believe it was real or because it's critical that you remember them. That's a valid reason to do so, by the way, but I present them again in this completely different format because I think it's the best way to hear them and to understand them in their absolute fullness.
It's notable, too, that Sarah Cooper -- a writer and comedian -- goes by the Twitter handle of "sarahcpr," abbreviating her last name. Given the subject matter here, "CPR" is about as appropriate as it gets.
And we finish with this wonderful, and eerily prescient sketch from Saturday Night Live during the 2016 election. It features Kate McKinnon as 'Hillary Clinton' in a parody of the movie Love, Actually. Stick with it to the very end. They call the sketch "Hillary Actually." And it's pretty much the banner headline of this administration.
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