What Market Vendors in Peru Learned About COVID-19 Prevention

The COVID-19 pandemic has come and gone, but the lessons learned about self-medication are still important. People took all sorts of medicines to prevent getting sick, but not much research has been done on whether these actually work. A recent study looked into this by focusing on market vendors in Peru's Central Highlands. Researchers compared vendors who tested positive for COVID-19 with those who didn't. They matched them by age, gender, and where they worked. The goal was to see if certain self-administered medicines made a difference in infection rates. The findings were surprising. People who took acetylsalicylic acid (commonly known as aspirin) were more likely to get COVID-19. On the other hand, those who took vitamin C were less likely to get infected. Additionally, skipping the COVID-19 booster shot increased the chances of catching the virus. These results suggest that not all self-medication is helpful. Some might even do more harm than good. However, more research is needed to fully understand these effects. The study highlights the importance of being cautious with self-medication and staying informed about what actually works.