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Coronavirus: The Infodemic - January 11


Vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are pictured as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continues, at Enfermera Isabel Zendal hospital in Madrid, Spain January 11, 2021.
Vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are pictured as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continues, at Enfermera Isabel Zendal hospital in Madrid, Spain January 11, 2021.

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

Daily Debunk

Claim: The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is “poison” because it contains potassium chloride - a chemical also used to stop the heart during a process of lethal injection.

Verdict: False

Read the full story at: Agence France-Presse

Social Media Disinfo

Screenshot
Screenshot

Circulating on social media: Video purporting to show UK hospital with empty A&E department, providing proof that the COVID-19 pandemic is a hoax.

Verdict: False

Read the full story at: Reuters

Factual Reads on Coronavirus


The Best Evidence for How to Overcome COVID Vaccine Fears
Social science offers valuable lessons about ways to convince those who are hesitant about the shots.
-- Scientific American, January 7​

Scientists are monitoring a coronavirus mutation that could affect the strength of vaccines
As scientists try to track the spread of a new, more infectious coronavirus variant around the world — finding more cases in the United States and elsewhere this week — they are also keeping an eye on a different mutation with potentially greater implications for how well Covid-19 vaccines work.
-- Stat, January 7

COVID-19 Scams: How They Work and How to Avoid Them
While some people are focused on COVID-19 and ways to get through the pandemic, scammers are looking for new ways to profit.
-- Trend Micro Check, December 30

‘It’s crazy.’ Upbeat COVID-19 vaccine news from China and U.K. leaves scientists wanting more details
In what has become a familiar pattern, the COVID-19 vaccine landscape has changed overnight, simultaneously raising hopes that more people may soon get vaccinated and triggering confusion.
-- Science, December 30

What We Know About the New U.K Variant of Coronavirus -- And What We Need To Find Out
A new variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly in England and raising international alarms. Scientists say the variant is likely more contagious than previous versions of the virus.
-- NPR, December 22

A ‘duty to warn’: An ER doctor, shaped by war and hardship, chronicles the searing realities of Covid-19
-- Stat, December 21

COVID vaccine race leaders likely won’t be only ones to reap huge payday
Therapeutics and law expert lays out the economics of this drug development.
-- The Harvard Gazette, December 17

Behind Each of More Than 300,000 Lives Lost: A Name, a Caregiver, a Family, a Story
More than 300,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States.
-- Kaiser Health News, December 15

The lasting misery of coronavirus long-haulers
Months after infection with SARS-CoV-2, some people are still battling crushing fatigue, lung damage and other symptoms of ‘long COVID’.
-- Nature, September 14

Watch: Antibodies, immunity, and what they mean for Covid-19, explained
The immune system is no wimp. When pathogens cause illness, it kicks into high gear. Cells work together to tag, kill and gobble up invaders as they fight the infection.
-- Stat, May 5

The Best Coronavirus Myth-Busting Collections

HealthCheck

COVID19 Infodemics Observatory

Agence France Presse

Snopes

BuzzFeed

Factcheck.org

Associated Press

Washington Post

TruthOrFiction

Mapping COVID-19 Casualties

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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