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Coronavirus: The Infodemic - August 10


Syringes and gloves are pictured as students receive coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines on the campus of the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., July 22, 2021. REUTERS/Karen Pulfer Focht/File Photo
Syringes and gloves are pictured as students receive coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines on the campus of the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., July 22, 2021. REUTERS/Karen Pulfer Focht/File Photo

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

Daily Debunk

Claim: Three-quarters of COVID-19 cases linked to a series of events in July 2021 in Provincetown, Massachusetts, occurred in fully vaccinated individuals.

Verdict: True

Read the full story at: Snopes

Social Media Disinfo

Screenshot
Screenshot

Circulating on social media: Claim that there is no test for the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Verdict: Misleading

Read the full story at: Check Your Fact

Factual Reads on Coronavirus

We should not dismiss the possibility of eradicating COVID-19: comparisons with smallpox and polio
Our scoring for eradicability suggests that COVID-19 eradication might be slightly more feasible than for polio (although only two of three serotypes eradicated to date), but much less so than smallpox.
-- BMJ Global Health, August 9

COVID-19 vaccinemaker Novavax faces manufacturing setback
The U.S. government has ordered Novavax to stop making vaccine in the United States and said it will offer the company no more manufacturing funding until it passes muster with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) strict manufacturing requirements, such as ensuring each lot of vaccine has the same potency.
-- Science, August 6

Will the Delta Variant Peak and Then Burn Out?
Some experts are heartened by the recent decrease in COVID-19 cases in the U.K. and India, both hard-hit with the Delta variant.
-- Medscape, August 4

‘Breakthrough’ Infections Do Not Mean COVID Vaccines Are Failing
Getting flu again post-inoculation is more common than a return case after a COVID shot.
-- Scientific American, August 4

Pfizer Raises Price of Covid-19 Vaccine by 25% in Europe: Report
Pfizer's covid-19 vaccine will be the highest revenue drug in history by the end of 2021.
-- Gizmodo, August 2

Berlin protesters decry coronavirus measures; 600 detained
Thousands turned out in Berlin on Sunday to protest the German government’s anti-coronavirus measures despite a ban on the gatherings, leading to clashes with police and the detention of some 600 protesters.
-- Associated Press, August 1

‘The war has changed’: Internal CDC document urges new messaging, warns delta infections likely more severe
The internal presentation shows that the agency thinks it is struggling to communicate on vaccine efficacy amid increased breakthrough infections.
-- Washington Post, July 29

The Noble Lies of COVID-19
Do we want public health officials to report facts and uncertainties transparently? Or do we want them to shape information to influence the public to take specific actions?
-- Slate, July 28

Why it’s still so hard to find treatments for early COVID-19
Scientists are learning surprising lessons about why promising drugs fail in clinical trials.
--ScienceNews, July 27

Spaniards put faith in COVID-19 vaccines even as cases surge
[T]he emphasis on vaccines as the salvation could also have contributed to Spain’s young letting down their guards as curfews and face mask requirements were lifted, just as the delta variant arrived. The result is that, despite its smooth vaccine rollout, Spain is currently one of Europe’s hot spots for new infections.
-- Associated Press, July 25

Vaccinated people make up 75% of recent COVID-19 cases in Singapore, but few fall ill
While the data shows that vaccines are highly effective in preventing severe cases, it also underscores the risk that even those inoculated could be contagious, so that inoculation alone may not suffice to halt transmission.
-- Reuters, July 23

Covid-19 kept families and caregivers out of hospitals. Some doctors think that shouldn’t happen again
[P]atients and many physicians say the more restrictive ongoing limits, like only allowing one visitor, are no longer justified and may actually be harming patients’ mental health and leading to worse outcomes.
-- Stat, July 20

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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