U.S. health officials cut isolation restrictions for asymptomatic Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 to five days, and similarly shortened the time that close contacts need to quarantine.
Publication: covid-19
Snopes→ Reddit Post Misleads on ‘Anti-Vaxx Cowboy’ Funeral
Former Oklahoma resident David Leon Johnson died on Dec. 20, 2021, after a battle with COVID-19, according to his obituary.
Snopes→ Omicron is Latest Blow to Pandemic-Weary Front-Line Workers
Staff absences for COVID-19 tripled this month in London’s hospitals, and nearly 10% of the city’s firefighters called out sick.
Health Feedback→ Contrary to Peter McCullough’s claim, getting vaccinated is safer than getting COVID-19, in spite of rare cases of myocarditis
REVIEW Clinical trials showed that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was safe and effective in the five to 15-year-old population[1]. However, data collected from vaccinated people post-authorization revealed that this vaccine was associated with
Health Feedback→ Joe Rogan interview with Peter McCullough contains multiple false and unsubstantiated claims about the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines
REVIEW The Joe Rogan Experience, a podcast hosted by actor and comedian Joe Rogan, interviewed cardiologist Peter McCullough in December 2021. During the interview, which spanned about two hours and 45 minutes, McCullough made multiple inaccurate, m
Snopes→ UK Data Suggest Hospitalization is Less Likely with Omicron
Preliminary data suggest that people with the omicron variant of the coronavirus are between 50% and 70% less likely to need hospitalization than those with the delta strain.
Snopes→ No, WHO’s Director-General Didn’t Say COVID Vaccines Are ‘Being Used To Kill Children’
A brief clip of a comment made by World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus misrepresented what he said.
Snopes→ Pfizer Pill Becomes 1st US-Authorized Home COVID Treatment
U.S. health regulators on Wednesday authorized the first pill against COVID-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans will be able to take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus.
Snopes→ Did White House Say Unvaccinated Are Looking at ‘Winter of Severe Illness and Death’?
White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients had a harsh warning for Americans who have not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Snopes→ How Were ‘Omicron Variant’ Books Published So Fast?
Just because a book exists doesn't mean it's worth reading.
Snopes→ Biden to Pledge 500M Free COVID-19 Tests to Counter Omicron
Biden is announcing major changes to his COVID-19 winter plan, his hand forced by the arrival of the fast-spreading omicron variant, whose properties are yet not fully understood by scientists.
Snopes→ Was a COVID-19 Vaccine Warehouse Set on Fire in Italy?
On social media, many people applauded this fictional act of vandalism.
Health Feedback→ The benefits of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines for children outweigh the low risks, unlike what Robert Malone claimed
REVIEW A 12 December 2021 filmed statement on the topic of vaccinating children with the COVID-19 vaccines by Robert Malone, a medical doctor and researcher, was widely shared on a number of social media platforms (see here and here); as of 20 Decem
Snopes→ NHL Stops Cross-Border Games, Shuts Down 7th Team
Canadian-based teams will not play U.S.-based teams ahead of the league's holiday break (Dec. 24 through Dec. 26).
Health Feedback→ Ivermectin study in the city of Itajaí contains several methodological weaknesses, resulting in questionable conclusions
REVIEW The drug ivermectin has become a breeding ground for conflict during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ivermectin is a derivative of avermectin, a naturally-occurring compound discovered by William Campbell and Satoshi Omura, which won them the Nobel Pr
Snopes→ Advocates Shine Spotlight on Spanish-Language Misinfo on Social Media
Watchdogs say safety measures that help keep English-speaking users safe aren't being equally implemented for Spanish speakers.
Snopes→ Three NFL Games Moved Due to COVID-19 Outbreaks
The NFL has moved three games because of COVID-19 outbreaks: Las Vegas at Cleveland from Saturday to Monday; and Seattle at the Los Angeles Rams and Washington at Philadelphia from Sunday to Tuesday.
Snopes→ Did Pfizer CEO Say COVID-19 Vaccines Contain Microchips?
A 2018 video featuring Albert Bourla had nothing to do with COVID-19 or vaccines.
Snopes→ Did Twitter Prohibit Making an Accurate Claim About COVID-19 Transmission?
Vaccinated individuals can, in fact, spread COVID-19 to others — albeit at a far lower rate than the unvaccinated do.
Snopes→ Army: 98% of Active Duty Got COVID-19 Vaccine by Deadline
More than 3,800 soldiers flatly refused and could start being removed from the military next month.
Snopes→ Pro-Trump Commentator Melissa Tate Suspended by Twitter
In an email, Twitter confirmed to us that @TheRightMelissa was permanently suspended from the platform.
Snopes→ Did Bill Gates Make an ‘Omicron’ Video Game?
Among the many flaws in this conspiracy theory, the COVID-19 variant "omicron" isn't spelled with a "K."
Health Feedback→ Clip of Anthony Fauci discussing potential vaccine safety concerns is from March 2020; current scientific evidence shows COVID-19 vaccines reduce risk of infection and serious illness
REVIEW A 19 March 2020 Facebook Live conversation between Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Anthony Fauci, the director for the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, was recently used to spread misinformation about the COVID-19 v
Snopes→ US COVID Death Toll Hits 800,000, a Year into Vaccine Drive
More than 200,000 of those lives were lost after the vaccine became available practically for the asking last spring.
Snopes→ No, Fauci Did Not Say COVID Vaccines Are ‘Making People Worse’
Vaccine opponents stooped to new lows in December 2021, to almost violently misrepresent remarks Fauci made nearly two years earlier.
Snopes→ Data Indicate Omicron is Milder, Better at Evading Vaccines
The omicron variant appears to cause less severe disease than previous versions of the coronavirus.
Snopes→ One Year of Vaccines: Many Lives Saved, Many Needlessly Lost
One year ago, the biggest vaccination drive in American history began with a flush of excitement in an otherwise gloomy December.
Snopes→ Italian Dentist Tried to Circumvent Vaccine Mandate With Fake Arm
The man later said he got vaccinated (in his real arm).
Snopes→ Has Anyone Died from Omicron COVID-19 Variant?
Early studies indicate the strain may cause less severe COVID-19 symptoms compared to its precursor, the delta variant.
Health Feedback→ No, a fence in a shopping mall wasn’t used to segregate vaccinated and unvaccinated people; photo was taken in Romania, not Germany
REVIEW A Facebook post published by the political activist group Young Americans for Liberty claimed that a photo showed a fence being used to separate vaccinated and unvaccinated shoppers in Germany. That post received more than 4,600 engagements f
Snopes→ Pfizer Says COVID Booster Offers Protection Against Omicron
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said lab tests showed a booster dose increased by 25-fold the level of so-called neutralizing antibodies against omicron.
Snopes→ Does Video Show CEO of BioNTech Refusing To Take COVID-19 Vaccine?
This is what happens when conspiracy theorists play madlibs.
Snopes→ NYC to Impose Vaccine Mandate on Private Sector Employers
The move by Mayor Bill de Blasio comes as cases are climbing again in the U.S.
Health Feedback→ Misleading claims linking the spread of Omicron variant to vaccinated people rely on partial data and are unsubstantiated
REVIEW On 22 November 2021, the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa identified a new SARS-CoV-2 variant called B.1.1.529. This variant presented an unusually high number of mutations, including 32 mutations in the spike protein. Some o
Snopes→ Omicron Coronavirus Variant Found in Multiple US States
The omicron variant of COVID-19, which had been undetected in the U.S. before the middle of this week, had been discovered in at least five states, showing yet again how mutations of the virus can circumnavigate the globe with speed and ease.
Health Feedback→ Inaccurate clickbait headline in Forbes article used to promote the false claim that COVID-19 vaccines change our DNA
REVIEW On 29 November 2021, Forbes published an article written by Steven Salzburg, a professor of biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University, bearing the headline “Yes, The Vaccine Changes Your DNA. A Tiny Bit. That’s A Good Thing”. T
Snopes→ Trump Tested COVID-Positive Pre-Debate, Ex-Aide Says in Book
Trump called the story “Fake News.”
Snopes→ Fauci: 1st US Case of COVID-19 Omicron Variant Identified
A person in California became the first in the U.S. to have an identified case of the COVID-19 omicron variant.
Snopes→ Did a NY Clinician Express Hope That Omicron Variant ‘F*cks People Up’?
The post originated on the r/offmychest forum on Reddit.
Health Feedback→ Pathogens can evolve to be more virulent over time, contrary to nutritionist’s claim
REVIEW On 28 November 2021, nutritionist Mike Mutzel claimed in a Facebook post that “pathogens evolve to become less, not more, virulent over time”, citing “the law of declining virulence”. This claim was also made by others in the past, as