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Can essential oils prevent the spread of the coronavirus when applied topically or on surfaces?

Tuesday, June 2, 2020
By
NO

There is no scientific evidence that demonstrates the use of essential oils as an effective preventative measure against the COVID-19 virus. Although certain essential oil blends have shown some degree of antiviral properties, these blends will not prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission say that any claims that essential oil products can effectively ward off the coronavirus are fraudulent, putting public health at risk. An FDA task force is working to remove all fraudulent claims from the internet.

The FDA notes that fraudulent COVID-19 products may come in many varieties, including dietary supplements and other foods, as well as products purporting to be drugs, medical devices or vaccines.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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