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Coronavirus: The Infodemic - May 17


People ride a tour bus with no masks in Times Square during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., May 14, 2021.
People ride a tour bus with no masks in Times Square during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., May 14, 2021.

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

Daily Debunk

Claim: Because of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announcement on May 13, 2021, fully vaccinated people can go anywhere without wearing masks.

Verdict: Mixture

Read the full story at: Snopes

Social Media Disinfo

Screenshot
Screenshot

Circulating on social media: Facebook posts in South Korea claiming that COVID-19 is "merely a common cold that we see every year," referencing news reports from 2013 which mentioned a "novel coronavirus."

Verdict: False

Read the full story at: Agence France-Presse

Factual Reads on Coronavirus

Investigate the origins of COVID-19
As scientists with relevant expertise, we agree with the WHO director-general, the United States and 13 other countries, and the European Union that greater clarity about the origins of this pandemic is necessary and feasible to achieve.
-- Science, May 14

Top scientists question the need for COVID-19 booster shots
COVID-19 vaccine developers are making ever bolder assertions that the world will need yearly booster shots, or new vaccines to tackle concerning coronavirus variants, but some scientists question when, or whether, such shots will be needed.
-- Reuters, May 13

A Misleading C.D.C. Number
When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines last month for mask wearing, it announced that “less than 10 percent” of Covid-19 transmission was occurring outdoors. ... [T]he number is almost certainly misleading.
-- New York Times, May 11

How India’s COVID-19 crisis became the worst in the world
New variants and relaxed public health measures likely fueled the country’s surge.
-- ScienceNews, May 9

The origin of COVID: Did people or nature open Pandora’s box at Wuhan?
Neither the natural emergence nor the lab escape hypothesis can yet be ruled out. There is still no direct evidence for either. So no definitive conclusion can be reached. That said, the available evidence leans more strongly in one direction than the other.
-- Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, May 5

US sees COVID-19 cases decline, travel increase
COVID-19 is on the retreat, as the United States reports a significant reduction in daily cases—a signal that the country's largest vaccination push in decades is beginning to beat back the virus.
-- CIDRAP, May 3

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

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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