Face masks help to limit contact with infectious droplets which carry pathogens. However, the material used for face masks are still porous enough to allow gas molecules, such as carbon dioxide and oxygen, to pass through, and do not significantly impair gas exchange to the point of causing hypercapnia. No scientific evidence supports the claim that the use of face masks weakens the immune system.
The flu is a seasonal disease that begins to occur during winter and generally peaks around February. Based on CDC statistics, the 2019-2020 flu season is largely similar to previous years: clinical laboratories tested and reported flu infection numbers that are comparable to previous years, and the number of flu-related deaths was also comparable with the past 6 years. Therefore, rising numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths are not the result of mislabeled flu cases and flu-related deaths, as suggested.
Genomic analyses of the novel coronavirus shows that it has a natural origin and was not engineered. The claim that the virus has genetic material from HIV is based on a preprint with significant flaws in study design and execution that was later withdrawn by the authors. As it turned out, the so-called “HIV insertions” identified by the authors could also be found in many other organisms apart from HIV, refuting the claim that genetic material from HIV was inserted into the novel coronavirus.
The video A video published by The Epoch Times@ on 7 April 2020 sparked widespread interest and gathered “70 million views” within weeks of its publication, according to the outlet. The video investigates the origin of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. However, several of its core scientific claims are false and its … Continued
The claim that COVID-19 causes hypoxia because the causative virus binds to hemoglobin in red blood cells is unsupported. Firstly, no scientific evidence demonstrates that SARS-CoV-2 can enter red blood cells. Secondly, the claim that the virus binds to hemoglobin is founded on the conclusions of a single pre-print, which solely involves computational analysis, without experimental verification or peer review. The mechanism proposed is also inconsistent with clinical evidence from COVID-19 patients.
All available data indicate that SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, is of natural origin. Comparisons of viral genome sequences show that it shares a strong identity with similar coronaviruses that infect pangolins and bats. And further investigations of the SARS-CoV-2 genome suggest that the virus was not artificially created or propagated in laboratories. In the absence of evidence proving otherwise, the claim that SARS-CoV-2 was lab-created and intentionally released is not only unsubstantiated but also implausible.
More research is needed to provide a conclusive answer to the question of whether the flu shot increases the risk of non-influenza viral respiratory infections. It is important to keep in mind that while the flu vaccine cannot prevent COVID-19, it still provides several indirect benefits. For example, it reduces cases of flu and flu complications that require hospitalization, in turn reducing the burden on the healthcare system, which has become strained during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maintaining an adequate intake of vitamin C is important for staying healthy. However, evidence from clinical trials shows that regular vitamin C supplementation does not prevent viral respiratory tract infections such as the common cold, which can be caused by coronaviruses, in the general populationAlthough some studies have shown a reduced incidence of the common cold in individuals undergoing severe physical stress, such as marathon runners.
The 2019 novel coronavirus does not contain a sequence from the pShuttle-SN vector as claimed. There is no evidence supporting the claim that 2019-nCoV is man-made.
The claim is based on a study which compared extremely short gene and protein sequences between the 2019 novel coronavirus and HIV, a practice likely to give false positives. The study’s authors also overlooked checking for potential similarities between 2019-nCoV and other organisms. As it turned out, similar regions could also be found in many other organisms, not just HIV, meaning that these similarities are not unique to 2019-nCoV and HIV.
