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Coronavirus: The Infodemic - May 20


U.S. -- Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the 11th Democratic candidates debate of the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign, held in CNN's Washington studios without an audience because of the global coronavirus.
U.S. -- Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the 11th Democratic candidates debate of the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign, held in CNN's Washington studios without an audience because of the global coronavirus.

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

Daily Debunk

Claim: Former Vice President Joe Biden said that under the Trump administration, the CDC cut its staff in China to four people.

Verdict: False

Read the full story at: FactCheck.org​

Social Media Disinfo

Screenshot
Screenshot

Circulating on social media: Claim that COVID-19 quickly spread around the world as early as October 2019.

Verdict: Partially Correct

Read the full story at: Health Feedback


Factual Reads on Coronavirus

Coronavirus vaccine trials have their first results — but their promise is still unclear
Scientists urge caution over hints of success emerging from small human and animal studies.
-- Nature, May 19

Animal source of the coronavirus continues to elude scientists
Computational models, cell studies and animal experiments are being used to pinpoint the viral host that kicked off the pandemic.
-- Nature, May 18

Life as a Covid-19 contact tracer: sleuthing, stress, and veering off-script
The task involves a good deal of detective work, profound humility, and tact. It also involves cold-calling people who may be irritated to hear from you.
--Stat, May 18

Coronavirus research updates: ‘Superspread’ at a choir practice infects dozens
Nature wades through the literature on the new coronavirus — and summarizes key papers as they appear.
-- Nature, May 14

Can ‘Team Science’ Yield a Covid-19 Treatment?
[B]ecause there is still much that researchers don’t know about how the virus behaves, actually testing thousands of drugs simultaneously can point to potential therapies that logic couldn’t predict.
-- New York Times, May 13

Racial Status And The Pandemic: A Combustible Mixture
Officials are finding it’s still difficult to talk about race and COVID-19.
-- Kaiser Health News, May 13

This Is the Future of the Pandemic
Covid-19 isn’t going away soon. Two recent studies mapped out the possible shapes of its trajectory.
-- New York Times, May 8​

Can COVID-19 survive on my phone?
Yes. That’s why a daily wipe down of “high-touch” surfaces like phones, keyboards and tablet computers is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
-- Associated Press, May 7​

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

The Best Coronavirus Myth-Busting Collections

Agence France Presse

Snopes

BuzzFeed

Factcheck.org

Associated Press

Washington Post

TruthOrFiction

Mapping the COVID-19

Reliable Coronavirus Information

World Health Organization

U.S. Centers for Disease Control

Federation of American Scientists

Emergency Physicians

Johns Hopkins University & Medicine​

Pan American Health Organization

Google COVID‑19 Information & Resources

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