Quick Take
A Facebook post shows a Press Release from Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City suggesting that extensive research has shown that Vodka can kill novel Coronavirus. We investigated and found that the claim is False.
The Claim
The published letter on Facebook reads, “extensive research, our findings show consuming alcoholic beverages may help to reduce the risk of infection by the novel coronavirus….” It went on to recommend vodka for “drinking, cleaning and sanitizing.”
An archived version of the post can be seen here.
Fact Check
Is this press release issued by Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City?
No. Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas never issued any such press release. Speaking to journalists in United States, Lindsey Stich, a spokeswoman for the hospital said, “It’s not authentic and it’s not true at all.”
Emily Hohenberg, the director of media relations with Saint Luke’s Health, reportedly told media, “We have received a request from all over the globe – Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Finland, India, to name a few, as well as people here domestically about if we sent out this information. We know this can be confusing since whoever created this is using our logo and making it seem like it is a recommendation.”
The hospital has also given a clarification on their Facebook post about the same matter stating that the post in circulation is fake.
Can Vodka kill Coronavirus?
No. Vodka cannot kill Coronavirus. Neither as a drink or as a cleaning agent or sanitizer.
If alcohol in sanitizer can kill Coronavirus, why can’t Vodka kill Coronavirus?
This is because of the volume of alcohol present in Vodka (or any alcoholic drink). Coronavirus or any other viruses become ineffective when alcohol purity is over 60% to 70%. Drinking alcohol contains much lesser concentration of alcohol.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had earlier issued statements advising people not to use drinking alcohol for creating homemade hand sanitizers.
We have done a detailed Fact Check on this topic earlier. You can read it here.
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