When it comes to your family’s health, it is important to choose products that won’t bring unexpected harm. Air purifiers have become products nowadays due to their potential against airborne transmission of COVID-19. Many air purifiers are available in the Philippines but how can you be sure they really work?
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire stated in a media briefing on Monday, August 16, that necklace air purifiers don’t provide protection against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). In fact, they can be more harmful as they give a false sense of security that can lead to complacency and more Covid-19 cases.
Ever since the pandemic started, some people have started wearing necklace air purifiers for personal protection wherever they go. These air purifiers release negative ions that stick to contaminants such as viruses causing them to fall on surfaces, making the air free from contaminants.
However, according to Vergeire, the use of wearable air purifiers against Covid-19 is not recommended under the Philippine Covid-19 Living Clinical Practice Guidelines.
The Institute of Clinical Epidemiology of the University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health also released a statement saying that the negative ions these necklace air purifiers emit interact also with other molecules in the air and inadvertently produce ozone, formaldehyde, etc. It may cause health issues especially to elders and young children when exposed over a long period of time.
Some popular room air purifiers in the market use the same ionizing technology found in necklace air purifiers. Air purifiers with ionizers, photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) and UV can similarly cause re-pollution and may not be suitable for rooms with young children or elders.
A.O. Smith only uses filters compliant with international standards and that can be independently tested, such as HEPA filters and active carbon technology. In fact, HEPA filters are more effective in removing viruses, PM2.5 and other pollutants than ionizers since HEPA can capture 99.97% of airborne contaminants to prevent it from causing danger to health.