A top German doctor recommends whiskey to protect against COVID-19 (he’s joking…but still)

Tessa Robinson
Apr 29, 2020 4:11 PM PDT
1 minute read
Survival photo

SUMMARY

Updated: In keeping with Facebook’s efforts to report fake news, we have updated this article to include the doctor’s full statement. While the World Health Organization

Updated: In keeping with Facebook's efforts to report fake news, we have updated this article to include the doctor's full statement.

While the World Health Organization vehemently disagrees, Dr. Juergen Rissland, a lead doctor at the Institute for Virology at Saarland University Hospital in Germany, went on the record to say: Drinking whiskey can protect against COVID-19.

And that is definitely one report we can all get behind.


While appearing on "The Morning Show," Dr. Rissland was asked about whether or not drinking could kill any viruses a person may have ingested. "Yes, of course, that's true," Dr. Rissland responded. "And the higher the percentage of alcohol, the better it is. For example, if you are a whisky lover, then that certainly isn't a bad idea," he continued, while offering this bit of sage advice to pace yourself: "But of course you need to bear in mind that you can't do that every 15 minutes, that is something else to consider."

Virologist Jurgen Rissland, who says whisky protects against COVID-19 infection.Virologist Jurgen Rissland, who says alcohol can protect against COVID-19. Credit: Newsflash/Newsflash

After being prodded a little further by the show's co-hosts who asked him if he was really suggesting folks drink high-proof alcohol, Dr. Rissland laughed. "I would like to say it can't hurt, but in the end, it is definitely not a panacea. For God's sake, you shouldn't get me wrong here. I just wanted to make the point that the virus is vulnerable to high-proof alcohol, because it has an outer layer made of fat, and high proof alcohol destroys the virus. And one would need to drink quite a lot to get any sort of protection from infection."

So we'll take his advice with a good sense of humor... and probably a shot of whiskey.

Prost!

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