U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio's sarcastic remarks about Austin's "COVID theatre" lit up the internet.
Publication: covid-19
Snopes→ Did the CDC Recall PCR Covid-19 Tests Because They ‘Failed Full Review’?
Social media posts alleged the tests were revoked after receiving the “most serious type of recall.”
Snopes→ Does This Chart Show When COVID-19 Variants Will Be ‘Released’?
If credible scientists faced an uphill challenge to try to predict COVID-19 mutations, it was unlikely this unsourced meme did it first.
Snopes→ Yes, the CDC Just Reversed Its Policy on Wearing Masks Indoors
Even vaccinated individuals should be wearing masks in areas of high transmission rates.
Snopes→ Did University of Fla. Lab Find ‘Dangerous Pathogens’ on Kids’ Masks?
At least six masks reportedly were tested positive for potentially dangerous pathogens.
Snopes→ No, French President Macron’s Security Detail Did Not Quit Over COVID-19 Rules
Right-wing American sources seized upon baseless claims made by a French politician, in July 2021.
Snopes→ CDC Expected to Recommend Masking Again in Certain Situations
In recent weeks, a growing number of cities and towns have restored indoor masking rules in the wake of the more transmissible Delta variant.
Health Feedback→ 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
REVIEW COVID-19 PCR tests have been a critical tool for identifying infections and reducing the spread of the virus by supporting contact tracing efforts and quarantine of infected individuals. But this key role has also turned it into a hotbed of m
Snopes→ NYC to Require Vaccines or Weekly Testing for City Workers
“This is about our recovery. This is about what we need to do to bring back New York City," Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
Snopes→ With COVID-19 Surge, US to Keep Travel Restrictions for Now
Most of continental Europe has relaxed restrictions on Americans who are fully vaccinated, although the United Kingdom still requires quarantines for most visitors arriving from the U.S.
Health Feedback→ Ethylene oxide is used for sterilizing medical equipment, including nasal swabs, but it’s removed before use
REVIEW Testing for COVID-19 infection is one pillar in the attempt to contain the pandemic. For many types of antigen and PCR tests, swabs are used to collect material from the nasal passage or the throat, which is then tested for the presence of SA
Health Feedback→ In the U.S. new COVID-19 cases are concentrated in areas with low vaccination rates
REVIEW After reaching a peak of 300,777 new reported COVID-19 cases on 8 January 2021, the U.S. went through a months-long decline in new cases. Recently, however, this trend has reversed, with the country seeing an increase in the number of new rep
Snopes→ States Scale Back Virus Reporting Just as Cases Surge
The shift to weekly instead of daily reporting in Florida, Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota marked a notable shift.
Health Feedback→ Unsupported claim that COVID-19 vaccines caused hundreds of serious reactions among military veterans misuses VAERS reports
REVIEW On 14 July 2021, the organization Judicial Watch claimed in this press release to have records “detailing the adverse reactions veterans had to the COVID-19 vaccines”. These alleged reactions included cardiac arrests, strokes, dee
Health Feedback→ The majority of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.K. are among unvaccinated people
REVIEW The U.K. was one of the first countries to initiate its nationwide vaccination campaign against COVID-19 on 8 December 2020. As of 22 July 2021, more than 36 million people received two doses and are thus fully vaccinated. This represents 69%
Snopes→ NFL Teams Face Potential Forfeits for COVID-19 Outbreaks
NFL teams that experience a COVID-19 outbreak among nonvaccinated players could forfeit regular-season games, with players on both teams not getting paid.
Health Feedback→ VAERS reports may initiate investigations into potential associations between a vaccine and adverse events, but on their own cannot prove causality
REVIEW On 21 July 2021, multiple social media posts drew attention to the website of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a doubling of death reports made to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System. The specific sta
Snopes→ Did Macron Say This About the Unvaccinated?
No evidence exists that the French president made a viral quote attributed to him.
Snopes→ Did 45K People Die Within 3 Days of Getting COVID Vaccine?
Allegations were said to have come from a “government insider.”
Snopes→ What Is a COVID-19 Vaccine ‘Breakthrough’ Case?
It’s when a fully vaccinated person gets infected with the coronavirus.
Snopes→ No, There Weren’t More COVID-19 Vaccine Deaths Than COVID-19 Deaths
A vaccine adverse reaction tracking tool was misleadingly interpreted by junk news sites.
Snopes→ Did US Life Expectancy in 2020 See Biggest Decline Since WWII?
News outlets in the summer of 2021 made a remarkable assertion about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on American public health.
Health Feedback→ Unvaccinated people are more likely to die of COVID-19 because they are more vulnerable to infection and severe disease
REVIEW On 18 July 2021, political commentator Tomi Lahren published this tweet claiming that vaccinated people can “get COVID-19 and have over 99% chance of survival”, just like unvaccinated people, suggesting that COVID-19 vaccines aren’t use
Health Feedback→ Vaccinated people are less likely to be hospitalized due to the Delta variant compared to unvaccinated people, contrary to chiropractor’s claim
REVIEW On 19 July 2021, a video titled “Delta variant targets vaxxers” was published on the Facebook group TLC4Superteams, run by a chiropractic organization. In the video, chiropractor Jen DePice claimed that a Harvard study showed vaccinated p
Snopes→ No, 5 JetBlue Pilots Didn’t Die From the COVID-19 Vaccine
The claim echoed a similar, baseless claim about British Airways pilots.
Snopes→ With Pandemic Worsening in US, Surgeon General Worried
Dr. Vivek Murthy said he's concerned about what lies ahead with cases of COVID-19 increasing in every state.
Snopes→ Biden: COVID Misinformation on Platforms Like Facebook Is ‘Killing People’
President Biden made the remarks shortly before boarding Marine One on the White House lawn.
Snopes→ France: Thousands Protest Against Vaccination, COVID Passes
A march in Paris led by a far-right, anti-vaccine politician drew an usually sizable crowd, swelled by anger over the new virus rules President Emmanuel Macron announced this week.
Snopes→ The ‘Occam’s Razor Argument’ Has Not Shifted in Favor of a Lab Leak
Proponents of the theory that COVID-19 originated as a result of work performed at the Wuhan Institute of Virology keep repeating the same misinformation.
Health Feedback→ The Nuremberg Code specifically addresses experimentation; COVID-19 vaccines aren’t experimental, and therefore, don’t violate the Code
REVIEW In June 2021, U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes dismissed a lawsuit brought by 117 employees of the Houston Methodist Hospital system who claimed the hospital’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement violated the Nuremberg Code. The employees also comp
Health Feedback→ Vaccinated people are less likely to die from the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 compared to unvaccinated people; viral claim misinterpreted PHE report
Different variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, have emerged since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Each variant has specific mutations that make it genetically distinct from other variants and from the precursor (wild-type) vi
Snopes→ Is This ‘Early Warning Cartoon’ About Pandemic from the 1930s?
What is it about a "prediction" that makes propaganda that much more persuasive?
Health Feedback→ COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective but don’t prevent the disease completely; unvaccinated people place themselves and others at risk as a reservoir for virus spread
REVIEW In early July 2021, this meme claiming that “a vaccinated person might get sick from the virus they got vaccinated against because you’re not vaccinated” went viral on social media platforms. The meme received more than 65,000 interacti
Snopes→ France Cautiously Celebrates Bastille Day, Clouded by Virus
Last year’s events were scaled back because of virus fears.
Snopes→ US COVID-19 Cases Rising Again, Doubling over Three Weeks
Nationally, 55.6% of all Americans have received at least one COVID-19 shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health Feedback→ Preliminary data indicate that COVID-19 vaccines don’t increase the risk of pregnancy-related adverse outcomes
REVIEW The authorization for emergency use of the first vaccines against COVID-19 sparked one of the largest mass vaccination campaigns in history. In the U.S., 182,896,080 persons received at least one dose of vaccine as of 7 July 2021 and 157,908,
Snopes→ Yes, Lauren Boebert Tweeted That ‘Turning Off CNN’ was the ‘Easiest Way’ to Make the Delta Variant Go Away
The Delta variant is a highly-contagious strain of COVID-19.
Health Feedback→ There is no evidence that the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 has a lower fatality rate than the wild-type virus
Different variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, have emerged throughout 2020 and 2021. Certain kinds of mutations make each variant genetically distinct from the precursor (wild-type) virus and from each other. These genetic differen
Snopes→ Do I Need to Take Precautions at Hotels If I’m Vaccinated?
Many hotels offer contactless check-in, prepackaged breakfast items instead of open buffets and more frequent cleaning of common areas.
Health Feedback→ There is no conclusive evidence that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine contains graphene oxide
REVIEW Claims that a study from the University of Almería in Spain found graphene oxide in the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have been circulating in Spanish-language Telegram channels for weeks. These claims gained force in late June 2021 when