First, it was hydroxychloroquine. Then came ivermectin. Now, there’s a new treatment Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is recommending for COVID-19, and it’s probably in your medicine cabinet right now.
During a recent phone townhall with Wisconsin constituents, Johnson suggested trying mouthwash:
“By the way, standard gargle, mouthwash, has been proven to kill the Coronavirus. Even if you get it, you may reduce viral replication.”
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’s website directly answers whether their product kills the virus that causes COVID-19: “No.”
Their mouthwash “is not intended to reduce the risk of, prevent or treat COVID-19 infections,” the website says.
Dr. Stockton Mayer, who practices in the Division of Infectious Diseases at University of Illinois Health, disputed Johnson’s assertion. “We don’t have clinical evidence to support mouthwash as a COVID treatment.”
LISTERINE notes there are recent reports from in vitro studies showing their mouthwash having some effect on the COVID-19 virus in a lab setting. However, the brand says, “the available data is insufficient, and no evidence-based clinical conclusions can be drawn with regards to the anti-viral efficacy of LISTERINE® Antiseptic mouthwash at this time.”
Dr. Mayer there are plenty of treatments that aren’t mouthwash and are specifically meant to treat all stages of COIVD-19. “We have vaccines, we have therapies like monoclonal antibodies for early COVID … of all these things, the best way to manage COVID is to get a vaccine as soon as possible.”
Sanofi, who owns ACT mouthwash, declined to comment for this story. Procter & Gamble, owner of Crest and Scope mouthwashes, did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Johnson is rehashing almost the exact same conclusion jumping he exhibited with ivermectin. Ivermectin was shown, in vitro, to kill the virus causing COVID-19. However, the dose required to kill the virus is highly toxic to humans in real-life scenarios.
“You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it,” the FDA told people in a tweet this summer. The linked article warned of the dangers posed by overdosing on ivermectin, including seizures, coma and death.
Attempting to clarify his remarks on Thursday, Johnson told Ted Barrett of CNN, “I’m telling people to take [COVID-19] seriously and do what you can to boost your immune system … I was just trying to tell Wisconsinites to take it serious,” Manu Raju reported.
Also on Thursday, Johnson appeared on Vicki McKenna’s conservative radio talk show to address the mouthwash comment: “I was doing constituent service – and I threw it in there by the way, because it’s true.”
Johnson said within half an hour of making that statement, “my communications staff was coming in going ‘O.K., we’ve another one we have to deal with.”
This story was updated on Dec. 14 to include comments from Dr. Mayer.