Search Results for coronavirus

No, not every U.S. election year has had a disease outbreak and COVID-19 transmissibility is unconfirmed

Every year in the U.S. is an election year, if taking into account midterm elections as well as presidential elections, and contrary to the claim, not every election year has had a disease outbreak, as implied in the claim. In addition, the transmissibility of the coronavirus, represented by the “basic reproduction number”, is still under study. Currently, the basic reproduction numbers reported for the virus causing COVID-19 range between around 2 to more than 6.

Scientific evidence indicates virus that causes COVID-19 infection is of natural origin, not the result of human engineering

Multiple published scientific studies, based on genomic and phylogenetic analyses, show that the virus that causes COVID-19 has the strongest genetic similarity to coronaviruses isolated from bats living in the wild, pointing to its natural origin in wildlife. No evidence supports the claim that the COVID-19 outbreak is the result of a bioweapons leak from a Chinese laboratory.

Viral New York Post article perpetuates the unfounded claim that the virus that causes COVID-19 is manmade

Overall, Mosher’s argument is based on unfounded speculation and scientific inaccuracies. Such claims, which continue to be perpetuated even by public officials, have real-world repercussions. Peter Daszak, epidemiologist and president of the EcoHealth Alliance who has collaborated with WIV researchers, warned during an interview with the journal Science: “These rumors and conspiracy theories have real consequences, including threats of violence that have occurred to our colleagues in China.”

The Most Popular Health Articles of 2018, a Scientific Credibility Review

News about health and medicine touch the lives of many people, therefore they often become highly circulated on the Internet. Many of these articles achieve viral status, but how many of these viral articles are actually scientifically accurate? To find out, we conducted a study in collaboration with the Credibility Coalition to examine the scientific … Continued

Time article accurately describes distinguishing features between influenza infection and infection by other respiratory viruses

“Generally accurate. However, the main issue is that influenza viruses can also cause a “cold”, i.e. upper respiratory tract infection. A “cold” is a symptom/diagnosis whereas “influenza” is a virus that can cause symptoms such as a cold. There could be a better distinction by saying there are lots of viruses (flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus (HMPV), rhinovirus, coronavirus, etc.) that cause respiratory infections including ‘colds’ and ‘chest infections’.”