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Articles tagged with: Coronavirus
ARTICLE REVIEWS
Misleading Wall Street Journal opinion piece makes the unsubstantiated claim that the U.S. will have herd immunity by April 2021
in Wall Street Journal, by Marty Makary
— 26 Feb 2021
"The article’s claim that the U.S. is near herd immunity rests on two numbers: 1) the detection of infections by testing (claimed to be 10 – 25 percent) and 2) the infection fa..
New York Post article makes speculative, unsupported claim that mutation could enable the virus causing COVID-19 to evade handwashing and mask-wearing
in New York Post, by Jackie Salo
— 08 Oct 2020
"The preprint that the article focuses on actually says nothing about the most egregious claim made in the article: that the virus is evolving to get around hand-washing, masks, et..
Telegraph article describing the hypothesis that face masks can variolate a population receives mixed reviews on its scientific accuracy
in The Telegraph, by Georgina Hayes
— 24 Sep 2020
"The Telegraph headline is obviously misleading but the subheading is accurate. Masks don’t give immunity; rather, the argument is that infections are milder or asymptomatic and ..
Potential role for T cells in COVID-19 immunity accurately reported in National Geographic article
in National Geographic, by Carrie Arnold
— 19 Aug 2020
"The article accurately discusses the recent findings about the presence/relevance of T cell response against COVID-19. Indeed, both arms of adaptive immunity, humoral and cellular..
People who do not show symptoms can contribute to significant COVID-19 transmission, contrary to CNBC report
in CNBC, by William Feuer, Noah Higgins-Dunn
— 10 Jun 2020
there is already “abundant data” showing that people who are not showing symptoms—which could include asymptomatic, presymptomatic, and paucisymptomatic individuals—compris...
COVID-19 vaccine candidate by Pittsburgh scientists show promising results in animal studies, but clinical trials still needed before efficacy in humans is known
in Pittsburgh Magazine, by Garret Roberts
— 11 Apr 2020
Scientists who reviewed this article’s scientific credibility found that the reporting was generally accurate. However, they also highlighted a missed opportunity to provide read...
CLAIM REVIEWS
Scientific evidence demonstrates that COVID-19 and the virus that causes it exist and are different from the flu
CLAIM
“We found no COVID-19 in any of the 1,500 [COVID-19-positive] samples” but influenza A and B; “what we're dealing with is just another flu strain like every year. COVID 19 does not exist and is fictitious”
SOURCE: Instagram users, Instagram
Published: 06 May 2021
VERDICT
The benefits of getting the COVID-19 vaccine outweigh its risks; there is no increased mortality rate among vaccinated people relative to unvaccinated people
CLAIM
COVID-19 vaccines killed people; COVID-19 has a “99.97% survival rate”
SOURCE: Anonymous, Earthley
Published: 06 May 2021
VERDICT
Vaccines do provide immunity and can be used to achieve herd immunity
CLAIM
Vaccines don’t promise immunity and therefore “vaccine herd immunity doesn’t exist”.
SOURCE: Laura Elizabeth, Instagram
Published: 01 May 2021
VERDICT
Insufficient evidence to claim COVID-19 vaccines cause menstrual irregularities in vaccinated women; vaccinated people aren’t making unvaccinated people ill
CLAIM
COVID-19 vaccines cause menstrual problems in women; vaccinated people are causing health problems in unvaccinated people around them
SOURCE: Social media users, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Published: 30 Apr 2021
VERDICT
Flawed speculative study incorrectly claims that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines cause neurodegenerative diseases
CLAIM
“Pfizer [COVID-19] vaccine confirmed to cause neurodegenerative diseases”; “mRNA vaccines […] can integrate into the human genome”
SOURCE: Nathaniel Linderman, National File
Published: 29 Apr 2021
VERDICT
COVID-19 vaccines don’t cause herpes infections; a possible association with the reactivation of herpes zoster in patients with rheumatic diseases remains unconfirmed
CLAIM
“Herpes infections may be a side effect of a COVID-19 vaccine”
SOURCE: Jackie Salo, Instagram/Facebook users, New York Post, Instagram/Facebook
Published: 26 Apr 2021
VERDICT
Current data from clinical trials offer no reliable evidence that ivermectin is effective against COVID-19; better-quality clinical trials are needed to resolve this question
CLAIM
“Ivermectin is the only thing we have that treats COVID at all stages […] Ivermectin substantially reduces deaths from COVID and prevents infections”; 50 studies “show ivermectin is not just effective, but highly effective”
SOURCE: Craig Kelly, Tess Lawrie, Sky News
Published: 25 Apr 2021
VERDICT
DARPA developed a hydrogel sensor which monitors blood for infections at early stages, not a microchip for COVID-19 identification or location tracker
CLAIM
“Pentagon develops microchip that detects COVID under your skin”; Pentagon microchip can track your location
SOURCE: Ben Swann, Truth In Media
Published: 22 Apr 2021
VERDICT
The World Health Organization doesn’t recommend ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment; the drug’s safety and effectiveness remains uncertain in COVID-19 patients
CLAIM
“WHO data shows [that] ivermectin reduces COVID-19 mortality by 81%, but they won’t recommend it?”
SOURCE: Joe Martino, Collective Evolution
Published: 19 Apr 2021
VERDICT
COVID-19 vaccines were developed in record time due to scientists’ good understanding of similar coronaviruses and unprecedented investments from companies and governments
CLAIM
“No vaccine for HIV after 40 years of research. No vaccine for the common cold [...] A virus mysteriously appears and within a year a vaccine is created and we are all expected to take it.”
SOURCE: Anonymous, Instagram
Published: 14 Apr 2021
VERDICT
INSIGHTS
“Plandemic: Indoctornation” video rehashes debunked claims and conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines
— 20 Aug 2020
Plandemic is a pseudo-documentary produced by American filmmaker Mikki Willis, whose first instalment was published in May 2020. Featuring an interview with anti-vaccination activi...
Computing Forever interview with Dolores Cahill contains numerous inaccuracies about COVID-19 and vaccines
— 22 May 2020
This video, first published on 11 May 2020, features an interview between Dave Cullen, also known as Computing Forever on YouTube, and Dolores Cahill, a professor at University Col...
“Plandemic” vignette featuring anti-vaccination activist Judy Mikovits contains numerous false and unsupported claims about COVID-19
— 08 May 2020
This video is the first in a series of vignettes preceding a movie titled “Plandemic”. First published on 5 May 2020, it quickly went viral on Facebook, with more than 2.2 mill...
Did the COVID-19 virus originate from a lab or nature? Examining the evidence for different hypotheses of the novel coronavirus’ origins
— 24 Apr 2020
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in December 2019, many hypotheses have been advanced to explain where the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) actually came from. Initial re...