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Coronavirus: The Infodemic - January 1


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

Daily Debunk

Claim: “[V]accines are not safe during pregnancy … there’s no research on COVID vaccines during pregnancy because it's unethical to do so."

While Moderna has advised male and female COVID-19 vaccine trial participants to abstain "from all activities that could result in pregnancy" — the exclusion of pregnant women from clinical research is not atypical as they are viewed to be medically complex, potentially complicating research studies.

Verdict: Misleading

Read the full story at: USA Today

Social Media Disinfo


Circulating on social media: A social media post attributed to Rob Oswald, “a PhD in virology and immunology,” claims that positive COVID-19 samples sent to university labs found no SARS-CoV-2, but flu instead. It says that there is no such thing as COVID-19.

Verdict: False

Read the full story at: KHOU 11

Factual Reads on Coronavirus

Covid: What do we know about China's coronavirus vaccines?
As the global race to produce a COVID-19 vaccine continues, China appears to have made huge strides. But what do we know about China's vaccines and how do they compare to those developed elsewhere?
-- BBC, December 30

What We Know About the New U.K Variant of Coronavirus -- And What We Need To Find Out
A new variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly in England and raising international alarms. Scientists say the variant is likely more contagious than previous versions of the virus.
-- NPR, December 22

How gendered disinformation adapts to the context of Covid-19
-- European Federation of Journalists, December 21

EXPLAINER: Are new coronavirus strains cause for concern?​
-- The Associated Press, December 20

COVID vaccine race leaders likely won’t be only ones to reap huge payday
Therapeutics and law expert lays out the economics of this drug development.
-- The Harvard Gazette, December 17

Misting the White House between administrations won’t kill Covid-19 — and it could be harmful, experts say
[P]rominent expert organizations are clear: misting or fogging disinfectants is not a good way to fight Covid-19.
-- Stat, December 16

Behind Each of More Than 300,000 Lives Lost: A Name, a Caregiver, a Family, a Story
More than 300,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States.
-- Kaiser Health News, December 15

The coronavirus at 1: A year into the pandemic, what scientists know about how it spreads, infects, and sickens
The coronavirus behind the pandemic presents some vexing dualities.
-- Stat, December 14

The US is about to begin the first big test of Covid-19 vaccine distribution
What we can learn from the initial phase of vaccinating health care workers in the US.
-- Vox, December 10

Despite promise, few in US adopting COVID-19 exposure apps
Fewer than half of U.S. states and territories — 18 in total — have made such technology widely available. And according to a data analysis by The Associated Press, the vast majority of Americans in such locations haven’t activated the tool.
-- Associated Press, December 6

Federal hospital data system falters at tracking pandemic
A Science examination ... found the HHS data for three important values in Wisconsin hospitals—beds filled, intensive care unit (ICU) beds filled, and in-patients with COVID-19—often diverge dramatically from those collected by the other federal source, from state-supplied data, and from the apparent reality on the ground.
-- Science, December 4

Inside China’s response to COVID
Researchers and officials reveal how the pandemic has shifted the country’s scientific landscape and global reputation.
-- Nature, December 2

The Covid-19 vaccines are a marvel of science. Here’s how we can make the best use of them
It appears science may have found the Covid-19 pandemic’s off-ramp.
-- Stat, December 2

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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