Vows of matrimony just aren’t the same in a pandemic.
Publication: covid-19
Health Feedback→ Scientific evidence demonstrates that COVID-19 and the virus that causes it exist and are different from the flu
REVIEW In little more than a year, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused 3,2 million deaths worldwide, 577,000 of them in the U.S. Still, false claims that the virus doesn’t exist and that the pandemic is a hoax continue circulating on social media. On
Snopes→ Republicans Promote Pandemic Relief They Voted Against
Every Republican in Congress voted against the sweeping pandemic relief bill that President Joe Biden signed into law three months ago.
Health Feedback→ The benefits of getting the COVID-19 vaccine outweigh its risks; there is no increased mortality rate among vaccinated people relative to unvaccinated people
REVIEW Social media posts calling the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines into question commonly point to adverse events occurring after vaccination as evidence that the vaccine is responsible. As shown by this previous Health Feedback review, posts mak
Snopes→ ‘Horrible’ Weeks Ahead As India’s Virus Catastrophe Worsens
India's official count of coronavirus cases surpassed 20 million Tuesday, nearly doubling in the past three months.
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘This Comic Was Created Around 1930’
Just as disinformation against vaccinations resurfaced yet again in 2021, so too did a cartoon warning readers about the dangers it brings. The oddly topical cartoon shows four men — identified as an “anti-vaccinationist,” a “fa
Snopes→ Virus-Hit Russia Reports 25% Death Increase in January-March
Russia’s state statistical service did not provide an explanation for the sharply higher death toll, but critics have suggested that Russian officials underplay the severity of the pandemic in the country.
Snopes→ India Launches Effort to Inoculate All Adults Against COVID
Concerns that pricing issues could deepen inequities are only the most recent hitch in India’s sluggish immunization efforts.
Health Feedback→ Vaccines do provide immunity and can be used to achieve herd immunity
REVIEW As COVID-19 vaccination campaigns move forward in a number of countries, journalists, healthcare professionals and scientists have raised the questions of when a country can expect to reach herd immunity and if they are close to reaching it.
Snopes→ US to Restrict Travel from India over COVID Starting Tuesday
The U.S. will restrict travel from India starting on May 4.
Health Feedback→ Insufficient evidence to claim COVID-19 vaccines cause menstrual irregularities in vaccinated women; vaccinated people aren’t making unvaccinated people ill
REVIEW In April 2021, multiple social media posts and articles claimed that COVID-19 vaccines cause menstrual problems in vaccinated women (see examples here, here, here, and here). Others even claimed that vaccinated women were causing unvaccinated
Health Feedback→ Flawed speculative study incorrectly claims that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines cause neurodegenerative diseases
REVIEW As of 27 April 2021, more than 1.04 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered worldwide, according to the New York Times vaccine tracker. Such unprecedented vaccination efforts led to viral claims that question the safety of COVID-1
Snopes→ Indians Turn to Black Market, Unproven Drugs As Virus Surges
As India faces a devastating surge of new coronavirus infections overwhelming its health care system, people are taking desperate measures to try to keep loved ones alive.
Poynter→ Factually: Fact-checkers have the answers to Joe Rogan’s vaccine hesitancy
Factually is a newsletter about fact-checking and misinformation from Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network. Sign up here to receive it on your email every Thursday. I’m just answering questions Podcast host Joe Rogan made headlines in the
Truth or Fiction?→ Anti-Vaccine Disinformation Still Going Strong on Social Media: Report
Just twelve accounts are responsible for fully two-thirds of online disinformation about vaccines — but social media platforms still aren’t doing much about them. In a follow-up to a report tracking a majority of disinformation about vaccin
Snopes→ Joe Rogan (Not a Doctor) Spreads Anti-Vaccine Misinformation
Dr. Anthony Fauci called the podcast host's recent comments about young people and COVID-19 vaccines "incorrect."
Snopes→ India Grieves 200,000 Dead with Many More Probably Uncounted
Hospitals are scrambling for more oxygen, beds, ventilators and ambulances, while families marshal their own resources in the absence of a functioning system.
Snopes→ Did Trump Release an Official Statement Complaining About the Oscars?
The ceremony was pared down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Snopes→ Did Tucker Carlson Say Forcing Kids To Wear Masks Outside Is ‘Child Abuse’?
The Fox News host has also said seeing a vaccinated person wearing a mask outside is like watching a man “expose himself in public.”
Snopes→ CDC Says Many Americans Can Now Go Outside Without a Mask
The change comes as more than half of U.S. adults have gotten at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, and more than a third have been fully vaccinated.
Snopes→ Did Scientists ‘Confirm’ the Pfizer Vaccine Causes Neurological Damage?
A study published by an anti-vaccine activist in a predatory journal is being presented as a meaningful contribution to science. It is not.
Health Feedback→ COVID-19 vaccines don’t cause herpes infections; a possible association with the reactivation of herpes zoster in patients with rheumatic diseases remains unconfirmed
REVIEW On 20 April 2021, the New York Post published this article claiming that “herpes infections may be a side effect of a COVID-19 vaccine”. News outlets like Fox News echoed the New York Post article, which received more than 25,000 interact
Poynter→ WhatsApp and the IFCN offer a financial shot in the arm to fact-checkers fighting vaccine misinformation
Seven fact-checking organizations spread across the globe will get a combined $500,000 in grant funding to help support their efforts to fight COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. The award is part of the Vaccine Grant Program — a partnership between W
Snopes→ US Pledges Medical Aid for India To Combat COVID-19 Surge
The U.S. is pledging immediate medical aid to India to help combat its surge in coronavirus cases.
Health Feedback→ 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
REVIEW A Sky News segment hosted by Alan Jones and featuring Craig Kelly, a Member of the Australian Parliament, claimed that scientific studies supported the use of ivermectin for treating COVID-19. Published on 19 April 2021, the segment was share
Snopes→ Did Biden Say He’ll Cancel Fourth of July If Americans Don’t Do What They’re Told?
Certain sources distorted remarks the president made about staying vigilant in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Snopes→ India Virus Patients Suffocate Amid Oxygen Shortage in Surge
The crisis in the country of nearly 1.4 billion people was only deepening as overburdened hospitals shut admissions and ran out of beds and oxygen supplies.
Snopes→ Did Ted Nugent Summon Kid Rock to ‘Pass the Torch’?
A routine review of content labeled satire.
Snopes→ Was Josh Hawley the Only Senator To Vote Against COVID-19 Hate Crimes Bill?
The U.S. Senate passed the bill nearly unanimously on April 22, 2021.
Snopes→ Did the CDC Say Refusing a Vaccine Is a ‘Form of Racism’?
A picture that looked like a CDC PowerPoint slide was shared on social media.
Snopes→ Is LA Sheriff’s Dept. ‘Forcibly Vaccinating’ People With Special Needs?
The same faux-medical group that includes a doctor who believes in demon semen is now pushing context-free videos to cast a community service initiative as totalitarianism.
Snopes→ Indian Hospitals Plead for Oxygen, Country Sets Virus Record
India’s underfunded health system is tattering as the world’s worst coronavirus surge wears out the nation.
Health Feedback→ The use of face masks reduces the transmission of COVID-19 and doesn’t lead to oxygen deficiency or carbon dioxide buildup in the bloodstream
On 22 November 2020, an article titled “Facemasks in the COVID-19 era: A health hypothesis”, authored by Baruch Vainshelboim, was published in the journal Medical Hypotheses. Outlets like American Conservative Movement, Tech Startups, and G
Health Feedback→ DARPA developed a hydrogel sensor which monitors blood for infections at early stages, not a microchip for COVID-19 identification or location tracker
REVIEW On 11 April 2021, infectious disease physician and retired U.S. Army colonel Matt Hepburn gave an interview on the American television news program 60 Minutes, where he described a new technology developed by the researchers at the U.S. Defen
Poynter→ Factually: Falsehoods about COVID-19 suicides are nothing new for fact-checkers
Factually is a newsletter about fact-checking and misinformation from Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network. Sign up here to receive it on your email every Thursday. It feels true, but… The Atlantic’s Tom Bartlett put a spotlight on a
Snopes→ FDA Inspection Found Problems at ‘Dirty’ Factory Making J&J Vaccine
The Food and Drug Administration released a statement and a 13-page report detailing findings from its just-completed inspection of the idled Emergent BioSciences factory.
Snopes→ Did Otters at Georgia Aquarium Test Positive for COVID-19?
It wouldn’t be the first time captive animals tested positive for the virus.
Truth or Fiction?→ Did Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ‘Vacation’ in Florida?
Right-wing blogs and political operatives again targeted Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on April 20 2021 by accusing her of going on a “vacation” in Florida. The story was first reported in the newsletter Michigan Information & Research
Snopes→ Oxygen Supply Disruption Kills 22 COVID-19 Patients in India
A police officer said the leak occurred in a pipe connecting the oxygen supply to the main tank in the hospital complex.
Snopes→ Did A ‘Stanford/NIH’ Study Conclude Masks Don’t Work?
Really depends on how you define these words: Stanford, NIH, Study, Conclude, Mask, and Work.