A reader catches me depending too much on the Axios summary concerning a CDC survey:
Um, it was 200 people who responded to the survey. Who knows how many people have actually done those stupid things. It could be 201 or it be 20,000+.
Oh, crap. Here’s the relevant section from the actual CDC report:
A recent report described a sharp increase in calls to poison centers related to exposures to cleaners and disinfectants since the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (1). However, data describing cleaning and disinfection practices within household settings in the United States are limited, particularly concerning those practices intended to prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. To provide contextual and behavioral insight into the reported increase in poison center calls and to inform timely and relevant prevention strategies, an opt-in Internet panel survey of 502 U.S. adults was conducted in May 2020 to characterize knowledge and practices regarding household cleaning and disinfection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Knowledge gaps were identified in several areas, including safe preparation of cleaning and disinfectant solutions, use of recommended personal protective equipment when using cleaners and disinfectants, and safe storage of hand sanitizers, cleaners, and disinfectants. Thirty-nine percent of respondents reported engaging in nonrecommended high-risk practices with the intent of preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission, such as washing food products with bleach, applying household cleaning or disinfectant products to bare skin, and intentionally inhaling or ingesting these products. Respondents who engaged in high-risk practices more frequently reported an adverse health effect that they believed was a result of using cleaners or disinfectants than did those who did not report engaging in these practices.
[Bold mine.] The Axios report was poorly written, and I didn’t double-check it. If I’d realized it was an opt-in Internet survey, I wouldn’t have paid any attention, because these depend too much on special interest from the survey taker. 39% sounds high because many of those who had not taken up a dangerous practice would also not have taken the survey, thus skewing the results.
My humble apologies.
