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Coronavirus: The Infodemic - March 26


FILE PHOTO: Vials labeled "AstraZeneca COVID-19 Coronavirus Vaccine" and a syringe are seen in front of a displayed AstraZeneca logo in this illustration taken March 10, 2021.
FILE PHOTO: Vials labeled "AstraZeneca COVID-19 Coronavirus Vaccine" and a syringe are seen in front of a displayed AstraZeneca logo in this illustration taken March 10, 2021.

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

Daily Debunk

Claim: AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine causes blood clotting disorders.

Verdict: Missing context

Read the full story at: USA Today

Social Media Disinfo

Screenshot
Screenshot

Circulating on social media: A Facebook post written by the former chairman of Papua New Guinea’s Institute of Medical Research claiming that vaccines being rolled out for health workers in the country have bypassed the appropriate regulatory authorities and are being rolled out “for monetary gains.”

Verdict: Misleading

Read the full story at: Agence France-Presse

Factual Reads on Coronavirus

The Coronavirus Variants Don't Seem to Be Highly Variable So Far
SARS-CoV-2 may be settling into a limited set of mutations.
-- Scientific American, March 24

Pfizer is now testing a COVID-19 pill
The treatment is a potent protease inhibitor, the same kind of technology used to treat HIV and hepatitis C.
-- The Hill, March 23

U.S. health body questions AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine trial data
AstraZeneca may have released outdated information on its latest COVID-19 vaccine trial, giving an “incomplete” picture of its efficacy, a leading U.S. health agency said on Tuesday, casting doubt on the shot’s potential U.S. rollout and plunging its developers, once again, into controversy.
-- Reuters, March 23

AstraZeneca: US data shows vaccine effective for all ages
AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine provided strong protection against sickness and eliminated hospitalizations and deaths from the disease across all age groups in a late-stage study in the United States, the company announced Monday.
-- Associated Press, March 22

One Year In: How COVID's Toll Compares With Other Causes of Death
Covid has become the country’s third-leading cause of death, and could be on its way to outpacing cancer.
-- PolitiFact, via Kaiser Health News, March 11

Five-Day Course of Oral Antiviral Appears to Stop SARS-CoV-2 in Its Tracks
A single pill of the investigational drug molnupiravir taken twice a day for 5 days eliminated SARS-CoV-2 from the nasopharynx of 49 participants.
-- Medscape, March 8

What Is Fluvoxamine? OCD Drug Could Be Used to Treat COVID
An anti-depressant medication used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may also be effective at treating some COVID cases, scientists say.
-- Newsweek, March 8

The Impact of COVID-19 on Pediatric Mental Health: A Study of Private Healthcare Claims
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on mental health, particularly on that of young people.
-- FAIR Health, March 2

Quick guide: COVID-19 vaccines in use and how they work
Here's a quick guide to the COVID-19 vaccines now in use around the world.
-- Live Science, March 1

Andrew Cuomo’s Covid-19 nursing home fiasco shows the ethical perils of pandemic policymaking
The humbling of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on pandemic policy has been spectacular and swift. Within a matter of days, one of America’s most trusted voices in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic became a political pariah.
-- Stat, February 26

New drugs identified as possible tools to fight COVID-19
There will probably never be a perfect treatment to cure COVID-19—but the right medications for the right patients can save lives.
-- National Geographic, February 24

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 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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