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Coronavirus: The Infodemic - June 22


Empty vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine are seen at The Michener Institute, in Toronto, Canada January 4, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/File Photo
Empty vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine are seen at The Michener Institute, in Toronto, Canada January 4, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/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: Immunity from infection is always stronger than immunity from vaccines.

Verdict: Partly false

Read the full story at: USA Today

Social Media Disinfo

A nurse holds a vial of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vial at "Santo Domingo" nursing home, Asuncion, Paraguay, on April 10, 2021. (Photo by NORBERTO DUARTE / AFP)
A nurse holds a vial of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vial at "Santo Domingo" nursing home, Asuncion, Paraguay, on April 10, 2021. (Photo by NORBERTO DUARTE / AFP)

Circulating on social media: Claim that AstraZeneca means “weapon that kills.”

Verdict: False

Read the full story at: PolitiFact

Factual Reads on Coronavirus

UK scientist at center of pandemic origins debate removed from inquiry
Dr Peter Daszak 'recused' from investigation into virus emergence after concerns raised over links with Chinese laboratory.
-- Telegraph, June 22

New Coronavirus Variants Are Urgently Being Tracked Around the World
Genomic sequencing efforts are limited in developing countries, but scientists are mobilizing to help.
-- Scientific American, June 21

Former CDC director Redfield explains why he believes COVID-19 emerged from lab, WHO 'compromised'
Redfield argued COVID-19's efficient human-to-human spread contradicted behavior of other deadly coronaviruses with similar profiles.
-- Fox News, June 15

A Top Virologist in China, at Center of a Pandemic Storm, Speaks Out
The virologist, Shi Zhengli, said in a rare interview that speculation about her lab in Wuhan was baseless. But China’s habitual secrecy makes her claims hard to validate.
-- New York Times (via Todayonline.com), June 14

Why India’s Second COVID Surge Is So Much Worse Than the First
Large gatherings and much more lenient restrictions have allowed the virus to spread at devastating levels.
-- Scientific American, June 9

The Science Suggests a Wuhan Lab Leak
The Covid-19 pathogen has a genetic footprint that has never been observed in a natural coronavirus.
-- Wall Street Journal (via BizNews), June 6

We may never know where the virus came from. But evidence still suggests nature.
Labs like the one in Wuhan are essential to preparing for future pandemics.
-- Washington Post, June 4

The Lab-Leak Theory: Inside the Fight to Uncover COVID-19’s Origins
Throughout 2020, the notion that the novel coronavirus leaked from a lab was off-limits. Those who dared to push for transparency say toxic politics and hidden agendas kept us in the dark.
-- Vanity Fair, June 3

Good news: Mild COVID-19 induces lasting antibody protection
People who have had mild illness develop antibody-producing cells that can last lifetime.
-- Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, May 24

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

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

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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