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Coronavirus: The Infodemic - March 23


FILE PHOTO: Vials with Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Moderna coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine labels are seen in front of a European Union (EU) flag in this illustration picture taken March 19, 2021.
FILE PHOTO: Vials with Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Moderna coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine labels are seen in front of a European Union (EU) flag in this illustration picture taken March 19, 2021.

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

Daily Debunk

Claim: COVID-19 vaccines contain aluminum and will hurt the brain.

Verdict: False

Read the full story at: PolitiFact

Social Media Disinfo

Screenshot
Screenshot

Circulating on social media: Claim that COVID-19 vaccines take away the human rights of recipients by turning them into genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Verdict: False

Read the full story at: Reuters

Factual Reads on Coronavirus

U.S. health body questions AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine trial data
AstraZeneca may have released outdated information on its latest COVID-19 vaccine trial, giving an “incomplete” picture of its efficacy, a leading U.S. health agency said on Tuesday, casting doubt on the shot’s potential U.S. rollout and plunging its developers, once again, into controversy.
-- Reuters, March 23

AstraZeneca: US data shows vaccine effective for all ages
AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine provided strong protection against sickness and eliminated hospitalizations and deaths from the disease across all age groups in a late-stage study in the United States, the company announced Monday.
-- Associated Press, March 22

One Year In: How COVID's Toll Compares With Other Causes of Death
Covid has become the country’s third-leading cause of death, and could be on its way to outpacing cancer.
-- PolitiFact, via Kaiser Health News, March 11

Five-Day Course of Oral Antiviral Appears to Stop SARS-CoV-2 in Its Tracks
A single pill of the investigational drug molnupiravir taken twice a day for 5 days eliminated SARS-CoV-2 from the nasopharynx of 49 participants.
-- Medscape, March 8

What Is Fluvoxamine? OCD Drug Could Be Used to Treat COVID
An anti-depressant medication used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may also be effective at treating some COVID cases, scientists say.
-- Newsweek, March 8

The Impact of COVID-19 on Pediatric Mental Health: A Study of Private Healthcare Claims
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on mental health, particularly on that of young people.
-- FAIR Health, March 2

COVID-19: Schools for more than 168 million children globally have been completely closed for almost a full year, says UNICEF
UNICEF unveils ‘Pandemic Classroom’ at United Nations Headquarters in New York to call attention to the need for governments to prioritize the reopening of schools.
-- UNICEF, March 2

Quick guide: COVID-19 vaccines in use and how they work
Here's a quick guide to the COVID-19 vaccines now in use around the world.
-- Live Science, March 1

Andrew Cuomo’s Covid-19 nursing home fiasco shows the ethical perils of pandemic policymaking
The humbling of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on pandemic policy has been spectacular and swift. Within a matter of days, one of America’s most trusted voices in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic became a political pariah.
-- Stat, February 26

New drugs identified as possible tools to fight COVID-19
There will probably never be a perfect treatment to cure COVID-19—but the right medications for the right patients can save lives.
-- National Geographic, February 24

Unraveling the Complex Link Between COVID and Diabetes
The pandemic infection seems to trigger diabetes in some patients. Here are five plausible explanations as to why.
-- Scientific American, February 24

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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