Does gargling with warm salt water protect you from COVID-19?

The claim: A message that still circulates in family groups says that gargling with warm water and salt, or with vinegar, "kills the virus in the throat" before it reaches the lungs, and so protects you from COVID-19.

One of my students' parents asked me about it after a parents' meeting, so here is what I found.

What we found

• The World Health Organization has said there is no evidence that regularly rinsing the nose with saline protects people from infection with the new coronavirus.
• FactCheck.org and other fact-checkers rated the gargling claim false: salt water can soothe a sore throat, but it does not eliminate the virus.
• The message usually doesn't name a doctor or a study, only "a hospital" or "a specialist".

Verdict

False. Gargling won't hurt you, and it may ease a sore throat, but it does not prevent or cure COVID-19.

When a health tip comes with no name, no study and a request to forward it to everyone, check it with the Ministry of Public Health or the WHO before you share it.