Media report ‘new study’ showing exercise reduces COVID risk

Media outlets are reporting on a new study published this month in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine which found that exercise makes a person more resistant to COVID-19. 

The study looked at data from nearly 200,00 adults in Southern California who had contracted COVID-19 and found that those who exercised up to 30 minutes a day were four times more likely to survive COVID infection. 

“It turns out exercise is even more powerful than we thought,” said the study’s senior author, Robert Sallis. 

According to the study, just 11 minutes of exercise per week can reduce the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19. 

“Regular exercise protects against fatal covid, a new study shows,” reported the Washington Post. 

“Greater exercise activity is tied to less severe COVID-19 outcomes, a study shows,” read a headline from NPR. 

Netizens pointed out that authorities were quick to shut down gyms and health clubs as “non-essential businesses” during the pandemic and, when they were reopened, banned those who refused the COVID-19 injections from entering. 

According to global fitness association IHRSA, 25% of all health and fitness facilities in the US have permanently closed since the start of the pandemic, along with 30% of studios. 

But while many internet users are not surprised that exercise helps ward off illness, it may come as a revelation to media outlets, who in October reported that exercise makes COVID-19 vaccines more effective in mitigating the effects of COVID-19. 

“Regular exercise may improve the effectiveness of coronavirus vaccines,” reported the Washington Post based on a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.  

“Regular exercise could amplify the benefits of your next coronavirus vaccine or booster, a new study found. Exercisers who were vaccinated were about 25 percent less likely to be hospitalized with covid than sedentary people who received the same vaccine,” WaPo added in a tweet. 

The researchers compared between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in their study but did not show any findings for the unvaccinated. The study only showed that vaccinated individuals who exercised more had less hospitalizations than vaccinated individuals who exercised less.

The study notes that it did not find causality between the vaccine and exercise. 

During the pandemic, some celebrities slammed the lack of emphasis on exercise and a healthy lifestyle as an effective defense against the virus.  

“I’m over COVID,” Maher said earlier this year. “It was never that virulent a threat, I thought, to people who were in good health.”  

The media personality stressed that the virus is really a threat to those who are unhealthy, citing a study from the CDC that found that 78% of COVID-19 patients who died or were hospitalized were overweight or obese.  

“So, the fact that America, the medical establishment, never even attempted to get people to live a healthier lifestyle as a response to this pandemic is a giant scandal to me,” continued Maher. “The people who didn’t do that have blood on their hands. There’s no other way to put it.”  

Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who drew fire from the mainstream media and vaccine die-hards last year for not getting the injection, expressed a similar frustration on The Pat McAfee Show last year.  

“The one frustration that I have in all of this, is that throughout this entire time there hasn’t been real conversation around health,” said the sports star. “As far as giving people things to think about when it comes to health, like how to be healthier. As far as your diet, vitamins, and exercise.”