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Coronavirus: The Infodemic - May 3


U.S. President Joe Biden walks the tarmac to board Air Force One for travel to Virginia from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S. May 3, 2021.
U.S. President Joe Biden walks the tarmac to board Air Force One for travel to Virginia from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S. May 3, 2021.

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

Daily Debunk

Claim: 176,000 people died of COVID-19 during Biden's first 14 weeks in office.

Verdict: Missing context

Read the full story at: USA Today

Social Media Disinfo

Screenshot
Screenshot

Circulating on social media: Claim that COVID-19 vaccines are “experimental,” have skipped animal testing and have not completed initial research trials.

Verdict: False

Read the full story at: Reuters

Factual Reads on Coronavirus

After a Year of Loss, South America Suffers Worst Death Tolls Yet
If the world doesn’t stop the region’s surging caseload, it could cost us all that we’ve done to fight the pandemic, one health official said.
-- New York Times, April 29

Decoded: How Do Vaccines Actually Work?
Vaccines are medicines that train the body to defend itself against future disease, and they have been saving human lives for hundreds of years.
-- Scientific American, April 29

Vaccinations are plateauing. Don’t blame it on ‘resistance’
Instead of talking up hesitancy, it’s time to talk about what motivates people to get vaccinated and identify the ongoing barriers to vaccination.
-- Stat, April 27

FDA and CDC OK resuming J&J COVID-19 shots paused over rare clot concerns
Experts debated a warning for women under 50, but decided to reinstate the vaccine without one.
-- ScienceNews, April 23

Do We Still Need to Keep Wearing Masks Outdoors?
Science shows that the risk of viral transmission outside is very low. The “two-out-of-three rule” can help you decide whether to mask up.
-- New York Times, April 22

I’m fully vaccinated against COVID-19. How long will the protection last?
The answer is as simple as it is unsatisfying: No one knows.
-- Los Angeles Times, April 21

Disinfecting surfaces to prevent Covid often all for show, CDC advises
The risk of surface transmission of Covid-19 is low, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. Far more important is airborne transmission -- and people who obsessively disinfect surfaces may be doing more harm than good.
-- CNN, April 20

Next-generation Covid-19 vaccines are supposed to be better. Some experts worry they could be worse
With Covid-19 vaccines, the world hopes to beat back the virus that causes the disease. But some scientists are increasingly concerned that, because of a quirk of our own biology, future iterations of the vaccines might not always be quite as effective as they are today.
-- Stat, April 16

Schools Can Open Safely during COVID, the Latest Evidence Shows
The risk of COVID transmission in schools is very low if precautions are taken.
-- Scientific American, April 15

A coronavirus epidemic may have hit East Asia about 25,000 years ago
Descendants of the outbreak may have inherited some DNA that affects their response to COVID-19.
-- ScienceNews, April 14

How Could a COVID Vaccine Cause Blood Clots?
Researchers are searching for possible links between unusual clotting and the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.
-- Scientific American, April 13

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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MD
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