REVIEW A preprint (a study that hasn’t been peer-reviewed yet), uploaded to the server medRxiv, claimed that relative to pre-pandemic years, “SARS-CoV-2 vaccination was associated with higher risk of myocarditis death, not only in young adults b
Publication: covid-19
Health Feedback→ Photos of blood clots removed during embalming don’t show any link with COVID-19 vaccines; blood clotting risk is much higher after COVID-19 than vaccination
REVIEW On 23 and 24 October 2022, writer at the Canadian news website Western Standard Matthew Horwood posted two tweets showing photos of blood clots. One of the tweets included quotes claiming, “They’re just not normal clots. It’s almost lik
Health Feedback→ Complete vaccine coverage in the U.S. could have prevented almost a quarter of COVID-19 deaths
REVIEW Since the COVID-19 vaccines were first developed, countries around the world have worked to procure enough supplies and encourage their populations to get vaccinated. Despite an early surge in uptake, the U.S. soon fell behind other G7 and hi
Health Feedback→ Study by German researchers didn’t find significant safety concerns with Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, contrary to claim by Alex Berenson
REVIEW The claim that German researchers found the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines to cause more side effects in young children began circulating in October 2022. Journalist Alex Berenson made this claim in a Substack post and an Instagram post, while Will J
Poynter→ CDC committee’s vote did not make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for schoolchildren
A routine meeting of a group of vaccine experts who advise the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention became the target of a storm of misinformation after unfounded rumors […] The post CDC committee’s vote did not make COVID-19 vac
Health Feedback→ COVID-19 vaccine boosters reduce the risk of infection and hospitalization, they don’t increase the risk contrary to claims of vaccines “negative efficacy”
REVIEW Data from clinical trials and safety surveillance indicate that COVID-19 vaccines approved in the U.S. are safe and effective at preventing severe illness and death. Nevertheless, false and misleading claims downplaying the vaccines’ ef
Poynter→ No, Fauci didn’t say he was ‘unnecessarily forcing masks’
On Oct. 16, ABC News aired an interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci in which he reflected on his years of public service. He’s set to retire in December, nearly three years after the COVID-19 […] The post No, Fauci didn’t say he was ‘
Truth or Fiction?→ Former Michigan House Speaker Under Investigation for ‘Array’ of Suspected Crimes
The former state House Speaker for Michigan is reportedly under investigation after months of allegations of both personal and professional impropriety. The Detroit News reported on October 18 2022 that the state attorney general’s office had ope
Snopes→ From Black Death to COVID-19, Pandemics Have Always Pushed People to Honor Death and Celebrate Life
Halloween, with its mix of the macabre and the playful, provides a moment to reflect on how closely life and death are interwoven – especially in the COVID era.
Health Feedback→ Scientific studies show that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine reduces transmission; claim by Rob Roos is misleading
REVIEW Many social media posts and articles began circulating in October 2022, claiming that Pfizer admitted to not testing whether its COVID-19 vaccine prevented transmission before the vaccine hit the market. The claim originated from Rob Roos, a
Truth or Fiction?→ ‘With an Insurance Card You’re Entitled to Four Free Boxes of Two Covid Tests Per Month from CVS or Walgreens’
On October 16 2022, a tweet went viral about eight free COVID-19 tests per month, available to Americans “with an insurance card” through pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens: Did you know that with an insurance card you’re entitled to f
Health Feedback→ Analysis by Florida Department of Health about COVID-19 mRNA vaccines contains multiple methodological problems
REVIEW On 7 October 2022, the state of Florida issued new COVID-19 vaccine guidance recommending against men aged 18 to 39 years old getting the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. According to the guidance, this decision was based on a new unpublished study by
Health Feedback→ Charlie Kirk’s video listing reasons to oppose COVID-19 vaccines contains multiple incorrect, misleading, and unsupported statements
REVIEW On 4 October 2022, American radio host Charlie Kirk posted
Health Feedback→ Biden’s 2021 remarks on the role of COVID-19 vaccines in hurricane preparedness misrepresented in social media posts
REVIEW In late September 2022, Hurricane Ian hit several parts of the U.S., leaving a trail of destruction, with Florida and South Carolina being the most affected areas. Around the same time, social media posts began to appear, suggesting that U.S.
Health Feedback→ Article by cardiologist Aseem Malhotra made unsupported claims about the benefits and risks of COVID-19 vaccination
REVIEW On 26 September 2022, cardiologist Aseem Malhotra published a two-part article (archived here and here) in the Journal of Insulin Resistance—of which Malhotra is an editor— calling for a global pause of mRNA vaccines. Part 1 of the articl
Health Feedback→ Claim that hydroxychloroquine is an effective early treatment for COVID-19 isn’t supported by evidence from clinical trials
REVIEW As of 22 September 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two treatments for patients with COVID-19, the antiviral remdesivir and the immune modulator baricitimib. The FDA has also given Emergency Use Authorization (EU
Health Feedback→ COVID-19 vaccines provide important benefits; SSRN preprint didn’t find COVID-19 vaccines to be “98 times worse” than the virus
REVIEW In September 2022, several articles went viral, claiming that COVID-19 vaccines are “98 times worse” than COVID-19 itself. Examples include this one by the Gateway Pundit, another by The Epoch Times, and one by the Florida Standard. The c
Snopes→ Is the Pandemic Over? We Asked an Economist, an Education Expert, and a Public Health Scholar Their Views
President Joe Biden’s suggestion that the COVID-19 pandemic is over has led to a backlash among some experts who suggest the comment is premature – and counterproductive.
Health Feedback→ The COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective; claim that they have caused an “international medical crisis” is baseless
REVIEW On 1 September 2022, a team of researchers at the MRC Center for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at the Imperial College London, published a study in The Lancet where they estimated that the COVID-19 vaccines prevented 19.8 million deaths
Truth or Fiction?→ The COVID-19 Pandemic Is Not ‘Over’
On September 18 2022, during a 60 Minutes segment, United States President Joe Biden’s remarks included a claim that the COVID-19 pandemic was “over” — leading to quite a lot of pushback: In an interview on “60 Minutes&#
Health Feedback→ Denmark didn’t ban COVID-19 vaccines for people under 50
REVIEW In September 2022, the claim that Denmark banned COVID-19 vaccination for those under 50 went viral, thanks to social media posts such as this video by Clay Travis, owner of sports media outlet OutKick and this tweet by British social comment
Health Feedback→ Mike Adams’ flawed analysis of a clot sent by embalmer Richard Hirschman doesn’t demonstrate any link between blood clots and COVID-19 vaccines
REVIEW On 2 September 2022, The Epoch Times published an article claiming that embalmers in the U.S. have been finding “strange clots” in deceased people since the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. The article received more than 25,000 interactions
Health Feedback→ Unsubstantiated claims by Michael Palmer and Sucharit Bhakdi don’t demonstrate that COVID-19 vaccines harm organs
REVIEW On 19 August 2022, an article titled “Vascular and organ damage induced by mRNA vaccines: irrefutable proof of causality” went viral on Twitter. Authored by chemistry professor Michael Palmer and retired microbiologist Sucharit Bhakdi, th
Snopes→ 5 Things Immunologists Want You to Know About Omicron-Specific Booster Vaccines
In a matter of days, eligible people will be lining up to receive the shots that are tailored to combat the most recent and contagious COVID subvariants.
Snopes→ WHO: New COVID Cases, Deaths Keep Falling Nearly Everywhere
The U.N. health agency said there were 4.5 million new COVID-19 cases reported last week, a 16% drop from the previous week.
Snopes→ US Clears Updated COVID Boosters Targeting Newest Variants
The move by the Food and Drug Administration tweaks the recipe of shots made by Pfizer and rival Moderna that already have saved millions of lives.
Snopes→ Is Moderna a Sponsor of the 2022 US Open?
Readers asked if the COVID-19 vaccine maker truly was a partnering sponsor with the tennis tournament, or if the rumor was a hoax.
Snopes→ COVID Researchers: Racial Disparities In Vaccine Booster Rates Persist
COVID-19 vaccination rates in Black and Hispanic people exceeded those of white Americans nationally — but only for the initial shots.
Health Feedback→ COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk of death, contrary to Mark Steyn’s misleading interpretation of mortality data
REVIEW On 24 August 2022, Mark Steyn, a host on GB News, a television and radio channel in the United Kingdom, claimed that young, healthy people died at a higher rate in 2021 than in previous years. Steyn suggested a link between this alleged incre
Truth or Fiction?→ House Report: Trump Advisor Plotted With ‘Known Extremists’ to Promote Bogus COVID-19 Drug
A discredited advisor to former United States President Donald Trump “exerted inappropriate pressure” on federal officials to promote a similarly discredited treatment for COVID-19, a House committee said in a report released on August 24 2
Health Feedback→ Unvaccinated people are twice as likely to die from COVID-19 in San Diego county; vaccines don’t cause COVID-19, contrary to claim by Shaun Frederikson
REVIEW Large clinical trials conducted in several countries, as well as post-marketing surveillance showed that COVID-19 vaccines were effective at protecting against severe forms of the disease and that their benefits outweigh their possible risks.
Health Feedback→ Scientific evidence shows COVID-19 vaccination reduces the risk of pregnancy complications and isn’t associated with any safety issues; Pfizer’s clinical trial doesn’t show otherwise
REVIEW On 12 August 2022, the website Daily Clout published an article claiming that “44 percent of pregnant women participating in Pfizer’s mRNA COVID vaccine trial suffered miscarriages.” The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologis
Truth or Fiction?→ Twitter Wrongfully Flags Stories on COVID-19 Research as ‘Misleading’
Social platform Twitter has started to flag articles about COVID-19 as “potentially misleading,” despite the articles being based on actual research and legitimate reporting, with no explanation. One such article, posted by the Internation
Snopes→ RFK Jr.’s Anti-Vaccine Group Kicked off Instagram, Facebook
Children's Health Defense has spread misleading claims about vaccines and other public health measures designed to control the pandemic.
Health Feedback→ Analysis of Dutch cities’ mortality doesn’t show that COVID-19 vaccines increase the risk of death, contrary to Berenson’s interpretation
REVIEW More than 80% of the Dutch population over 12 has been vaccinated against COVID-19, as of August 2022. Large clinical trials and ongoing monitoring of the millions vaccinated worldwide show that COVID-19 vaccines effectiveness largely outweig
Snopes→ Jill Biden Tests Positive for COVID-19, Has ‘Mild’ Symptoms
President Joe Biden continues to test negative after recently recovering from the virus but will wear a mask indoors for 10 days as a precaution.
Snopes→ CDC Drops Quarantine, Distancing Recommendations for COVID
The changes are driven by a recognition that an estimated 95% of Americans 16 and older have acquired some level of immunity.
Truth or Fiction?→ House Report Shows How ‘Herd Immunity’ Disinformation Influenced Trump’s COVID Response
As the United States deals with both the continued spread of COVID-19 and a rise in monkeypox cases around the country, a House subcommittee report showed how “herd immunity” disinformation gained traction during Donald Trump’s presid
Truth or Fiction?→ House Report Accuses Corporate Landlords of ‘Abusive Eviction Practices’ Despite CDC Moratorium
Four property management companies accounted for nearly 15,000 eviction filings in the United States as the COVID-19 pandemic raged on, according to a House investigation — nearly triple the amount that had previously been reported. Their practic
Snopes→ Did Trump Say Biden ‘Has Dementia’ and Is Moving to a Wisconsin Nursing Home?
Former U.S. President Donald Trump used his own social media platform, Truth Social, to spread baseless claims about the current president's health.