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Articles tagged with: PCR

CLAIM REVIEWS

PCR-based COVID-19 tests aren’t cloning devices and don’t modify the human genome
CLAIM
“PCR kits have never been about testing for COVID” [...] They’re cloning devices”

SOURCE: Ariyana Love, The Stew Peters Network

Published: 11 Feb 2023

VERDICT

Video shared by Sebastian Gorka Facebook page shows nurse making false and unsubstantiated claims about ivermectin, COVID-19 PCR tests, and COVID-19 vaccine safety
CLAIM
Ivermectin is an effective COVID-19 treatment; COVID-19 PCR tests lead to false positives; COVID-19 vaccines aren’t working

SOURCE: Nicole Whitley, America First With Dr. Sebastian Gorka

Published: 20 Aug 2021

VERDICT

EUA withdrawal for CDC COVID-19 PCR test is due to the development of newer tests that help save time and resources, not because the test is faulty
CLAIM
COVID-19 PCR test is inaccurate, will no longer be used; COVID-19 PCR test cannot differentiate between flu and COVID-19

SOURCE: Social media users, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Published: 26 Jul 2021

VERDICT

COVID-19 PCR tests are highly sensitive and specific for the virus SARS-CoV-2; the majority of positive results are true positives; there is no evidence that budesonide or HCQ are useful as COVID-19 treatments
CLAIM
Models that predicted that COVID-19 would cause 2.2 million deaths in the U.S. were intentionally false; treatments that are 100% effective are being banned for false reasons

SOURCE: Clay Clark, Rob Marsh, Richard Bartlett, Keith Rose, American Media Periscope

Published: 01 Jun 2021

VERDICT

PCR tests on vaccinated and unvaccinated people are evaluated using the same criteria; the CDC didn’t change criteria for detecting infection in vaccinated people, as alleged in OffGuardian article
CLAIM
The U.S. CDC is “lowering their CT value when testing samples from suspected ‘breakthrough infections’” to decrease the number of officially recorded cases

SOURCE: Kit Knightly, OffGuardian, Zero Hedge, Gateway Pundit

Published: 27 May 2021

VERDICT

Most positive COVID-19 PCR test results are true positives; WHO information notice didn’t change threshold or criteria for a positive COVID-19 test
CLAIM
“WHO Admits High-Cycle PCR Tests Produce COVID False Positives”; the WHO’s new guidance includes lower PCR thresholds

SOURCE: Joseph Mercola, David Samedi, Zero Hedge, Children’s Health Defense

Published: 25 Jan 2021

VERDICT

Claim that high PCR test sensitivity inflates COVID-19 cases wrongly conflates the issue of contagiousness with the presence of infection
CLAIM
“Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared to acknowledge that large numbers of positive COVID-19 cases may arise from oversensitive tests that pick up mere fragments of the virus rather than active, viable infections. If true, many patients may have been receiving false-positive test results”

SOURCE: Daniel Payne, Just the News

Published: 12 Nov 2020

VERDICT

A rise in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths starting in September 2020 contradicts the claim by Michael Yeadon that “the pandemic is fundamentally over in the U.K.”
CLAIM
“the pandemic is fundamentally over in the U.K.”; “We now know that loads of people had prior immunity [...] I believe we are now firmly at community immunity.”; “Viruses don’t do waves.”

SOURCE: Julia Hartley-Brewer, Michael Yeadon, talkRADIO

Published: 10 Nov 2020

VERDICT

The group World Doctors Alliance spreads misinformation about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus, and the reliability of diagnostic tests
CLAIM
COVID-19 is a type of flu and is not a pandemic; PCR tests are up to 94% false positive; only 98 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported in Ireland.

SOURCE: World Doctors Alliance, Doctors For Truth, Facebook, YouTube

Published: 22 Oct 2020

VERDICT

Misinterpreted New York Times report leads to false claim that the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is inflated by up to 90%
CLAIM
COVID-19 case numbers are inflated due to PCR test sensitivity; “90% of positive COVID-19 tests should be negative”

SOURCE: Liz Wheeler, Steve Deace, One America News Network, The Blaze

Published: 10 Sep 2020

VERDICT