Fake news about the coronavirus can do real harm. Polygraph.info is spotlighting fact-checks from other reliable sources here.
Health experts recommend wearing “3-4 masks at once.”
False
Amish communities in the U.S. are unaffected by COVID-19.
False
The drug deaths started spiking last spring, as the coronavirus forced shutdowns, and more recent statistics from cities throughout the U.S. and Canada show the crisis has only deepened.
-- Stat, February 16
Some evidence indicates that short waits are safe, but there is a chance that partial immunization could help risky new coronavirus variants to develop.
-- Scientific American, February 10
Another COVID-19 vaccine has run into trouble in South Africa, showing less protection there than elsewhere because a SARS-CoV-2 variant that can apparently dodge key antibodies has become widespread.
-- Science, February 8
As millions of Americans struggle to recover from covid and millions more scramble for the protection offered by vaccines, U.S. health officials may be overlooking an unsettling subgroup of survivors: those who get infected more than once.
-- Kaiser Health News, February 8
In an ideal world, a pandemic vaccine could be delivered in a single shot, so supplies could be stretched to cover a lot of people. It would trigger no side effect more significant than a sore arm. And it would be easy to ship and store. Soon, it seems, this ideal of a Covid-19 vaccine will be within reach.
-- Stat, February 2
Lineages that can evade immunity are spurring vaccine makers to explore ways to redesign their shots.
-- Nature, January 29
As countries like the United States and United Kingdom inoculate their residents with never-before-used vaccine technology, others, including Russia, China, and India, are investing in more traditional approaches, like inactivated coronavirus vaccines.
-- Science, January 29
While some people are focused on COVID-19 and ways to get through the pandemic, scammers are looking for new ways to profit.
-- Trend Micro Check, December 30
The immune system is no wimp. When pathogens cause illness, it kicks into high gear. Cells work together to tag, kill and gobble up invaders as they fight the infection.
-- Stat, May 5