No Evidence That ‘Air Doctor’ Prevents COVID-19, NCDC Warns Nigerians

National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has cautioned Nigerians against the use of labels known as ‘Air Doctor’ in the pretext that it prevents the transmission of COVID-19.

NCDC says those who wear these tags often do so as a substitute for facemasks and other recommended non-pharmaceutical interventions to curtail the spread of the pandemic.

According to the centre, people also use ‘Air Doctor’ to alternate physical distancing (avoiding crowded places), hand washing, respiratory hygiene, and cough etiquette as preventive measures against COVID-19.

“Our attention has been drawn to the use of body-worn labels or tags often marketed as ‘Air Doctor’ by members of the public. Those who wear these tags often do so as a substitute for facemasks and other recommended non-pharmaceutical interventions such as physical distancing (avoiding crowded places), hand washing, respiratory hygiene, and cough etiquette as preventive measures against COVID-19.

“These tags are touted as air disinfectants with ability to inactivate any germ within the surrounding of the wearer over a long period of time. There is no available evidence to support the claim that Air doctor creates a ring of germ-free air by purifying the air around the wearer. The active ingredients are often advertised as chlorine dioxide and sodium chlorite. Chlorine dioxide does not exist in the environment for long time, as it dissociates when exposed to sunlight. Any gaseous disinfectant released is not stable or concentrated enough to sanitise droplets or air in the immediate surrounding. 4 These tags do not provide sufficient quantity and concentration of the purported active ingredients into the immediate environment where there is continuous flow of air around the wearer. The tags, therefore, do not provide any protection from droplets expelled by the wearer or from droplets the wearer may receive from other people close by, nor do they decontaminate hands or other surfaces” NCDC says.

While insisting that there is no scientific evidence that the so-called disinfectant tags have any preventive benefit against COVID-19, NCDC says the composition and concentration of the active ingredients in Air Doctor is ineffective against SARS-CoV-2.

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“Chlorine dioxide and its products, which are contained in such tags, could have serious health hazards especially to children

“Effective preventive measures against SARS-CoV-2 are: regular handwashing with soap under running water or use of alcohol-based hand rubs, physical distancing of at least 2m, wearing of face mask when in public, routine cleaning and disinfection of surfaces at homes and public places and ensuring cross ventilation in indoor settings

“NCDC will continue to provide evidence-based guidelines on COVID-19 prevention and control” the statement added.