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Coronavirus: The Infodemic - November 30


The tellers return results of an amendment in the House of Commons in London, January 29, 2019.
The tellers return results of an amendment in the House of Commons in London, January 29, 2019.

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

Daily Debunk

Claim: Britain’s lawmakers will be put under house arrest and prosecuted for fraud and other offenses linked to coronavirus legislation.

Verdict: False

Read the full story at: Reuters

Social Media Disinfo

Screenshot
Screenshot

Circulating on social media: Multiple Facebook posts shared in Myanmar claim that health experts have expressed “great concern” over a “Zombie deer virus” which they claim is “scarier than the coronavirus” and can spread among deer.

Verdict: Misleading

Read the full story at: Agence France-Presse

Factual Reads on Coronavirus

How Iceland hammered COVID with science
The tiny island nation brought huge scientific heft to its attempts to contain and study the coronavirus. Here’s what it learnt.
-- Nature, November 25

Coronavirus Infection Trajectories
Which countries are seeing the most new cases?
-- Information is Beautiful, November 23

Mysteries of COVID Smell Loss Finally Yield Some Answers
Explanations begin to arise at the molecular level for this vexing but commonplace symptom.
-- Scientific American, November 18

Health systems are using AI to predict severe Covid-19 cases. But limited data could produce unreliable results
[M]ost of the efforts are being developed in siloes and trained on limited datasets, raising crucial questions about their reliability.
-- Stat, November 18

Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine is strongly effective, early look at data show
The news comes exactly a week after results from Pfizer and BioNTech, which announced broadly similar results.
-- Stat, November 16

For COVID Drugs, Months of Frantic Development Lead to Few Outright Successes
There have been mixed results as researchers try to stop a disease they are still trying to understand.
-- Scientific American, November 13

New Type of Test May Better Discern Immunity to the Coronavirus​
The test detects the response of T cells to the virus — an arm of the immune system that may be just as important as antibodies to preventing reinfection.
-- New York Times, November 10

One in five COVID-19 patients develop mental illness within 90 days - study
Study finds 20% of those infected diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder within 90 days.
-- Reuters, November 9

Four reasons for encouragement based on Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine results
The world has been waiting for good news on Covid-19 vaccines. Monday it got a bunch of it.
-- Stat, November 9

A minority of people with covid-19 account for the bulk of transmission
In two Indian states 10% of people caused 60% of subsequent infections.
-- The Economist, November 7

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 race for coronavirus vaccines: a graphical guide
Eight ways in which scientists hope to provide immunity to SARS-CoV-2.
-- Nature, April 28

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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