Coronavirus: The Infodemic - April 30

April 30, 2020

Fake news about the coronavirus can do real harm. Polygraph.info is spotlighting fact-checks from other reliable sources here.

Daily Debunk

Claim: The first clinical trial on remdesivir in treating COVID-19 proved a failure.

Verdict: False

Read the full story: "Pro-Kremlin Site Declares Antiviral Drug a Failure, Links to Bogus Lab Conspiracy." Polygraph.info

Circulating on social media: Claim that a dog coronavirus vaccine could work for COVID-19.

Verdict: False

Read the full story at: R euters

Wuhan shows the world that the end of lockdown is just the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis
Despite the lifting of most strict lockdown laws, many stores are still shut, restaurants are restricted to takeaway and even when citizens go outside they still wear protective equipment and try to avoid each other.
-- CNN, April 30

The race for coronavirus vaccines: a graphical guide
Eight ways in which scientists hope to provide immunity to SARS-CoV-2.
-- Nature, April 28

Hello, social distancing. Goodbye, handshakes?
Our hands can carry Salmonella, E. coli, norovirus and respiratory infections like adenovirus and hand-foot-mouth disease.
-- Reuters, April 28

Did the COVID-19 virus originate from a lab or nature? Examining the evidence for different hypotheses of the novel coronavirus’ origins
Taken together, the information presented here suggests that it is much more likely that SARS-CoV-2 was generated naturally and transmitted zoonotically, without any engineering or lab growth.
-- Health Feedback, April 24

Pick of the coronavirus papers: Intensive testing finds a small town’s many silent infections
A large proportion of people with COVID-19 have no symptoms, according to research in a small Italian town.
-- Nature, April 23

Why the World Bank ex-chief is on a mission to end coronavirus transmission
Fearing an economic crisis of unprecedented proportions, Jim Yong Kim is rolling out a plan to halt the pandemic rather than weather it out.
-- Nature, April 22, 2020