Facebook Twitter Tumblr Close Skip to main content
A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Aaron Rodgers’ Inaccurate COVID-19 Claims

Aaron Rodgers’ Inaccurate COVID-19 Claims

Aaron Rodgers, the star quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, made headlines when he contracted COVID-19 and then defended his decision not to get vaccinated with a string of false and misleading claims that fact-checkers have frequently debunked.

A Guide to Pfizer/BioNTech’s Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccine for Kids 5-11

A Guide to Pfizer/BioNTech’s Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccine for Kids 5-11

As with its adult vaccine, Pfizer/BioNTech was the first to cross the finish line and offer a Food and Drug Administration-authorized COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 through 11. Here, we describe how it’s different from its grown-up cousin and what experts are saying about who should get it.

Republicans Spin NIH Letter About Coronavirus Gain-of-Function Research

Republicans Spin NIH Letter About Coronavirus Gain-of-Function Research

Republicans say a letter from a National Institutes of Health official is an admission that the agency funded so-called gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses in China, with some falsely linking the work to the pandemic coronavirus. But the research, which the NIH maintains is not gain-of-function, could not have led to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Colin Powell’s COVID-19 Death Followed Cancer Diagnosis, Treatment

Colin Powell’s COVID-19 Death Followed Cancer Diagnosis, Treatment

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell died from complications of COVID-19. Although he was fully vaccinated, he was also 84 years old and was a cancer patient who had undergone treatment for multiple myeloma — factors that put him at higher risk of a serious breakthrough illness. His death does not mean the COVID-19 vaccines don’t work, as many social media posts suggest.

Merck, Pfizer COVID-19 Antivirals Different From Ivermectin

Merck, Pfizer COVID-19 Antivirals Different From Ivermectin

Merck and Pfizer are each developing a new oral antiviral drug that might prevent or treat COVID-19. The pills are very different from the antiparasitic medication ivermectin, contrary to claims online that they are “suspiciously similar” or that the companies are “repackaging” ivermectin in a ploy to increase profits.

Biden’s Controversial COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Plan

Biden’s Controversial COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Plan

The Biden administration announced that third shots of the two mRNA COVID-19 vaccines would be available to healthy people starting in mid-September. But many scientists say it’s not yet clear that boosters are needed.

CDC Document Discusses Strategy To Protect Displaced People From COVID-19

CDC Document Discusses Strategy To Protect Displaced People From COVID-19

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention document reviews the challenges of using a “shielding” approach to protect high-risk people living in places such as refugee camps from COVID-19. But conservative commentator Candace Owens misinterpreted it to mean the agency was proposing putting high-risk Americans into camps.

Indiana Doctor Piles On Bogus COVID-19 Claims in Viral Video

Indiana Doctor Piles On Bogus COVID-19 Claims in Viral Video

In a viral video, an Indiana physician baselessly claimed that the COVID-19 vaccines, which have been shown to be safe and effective, “fight the virus wrong and let the virus become worse than it would with native infection.” He also incorrectly said no vaccine prevents infection and contended that people previously infected with COVID-19 do not benefit from vaccination, despite studies that suggest otherwise.

Posts Misinterpret CDC’s Provincetown COVID-19 Outbreak Report

Posts Misinterpret CDC’s Provincetown COVID-19 Outbreak Report

Social media posts are misinterpreting the results of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, which found 74% of people in a COVID-19 outbreak were vaccinated, to argue against immunization. But experts say the statistic is misleading without more context — and doesn’t mean that the vaccines don’t work.

Vaccines Remain Largely Effective Against Delta Variant, Counter to Claims From Fox News Guest

Vaccines Remain Largely Effective Against Delta Variant, Counter to Claims From Fox News Guest

Multiple studies show the FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines continue to be effective against the delta variant of the coronavirus, even if the potency of the vaccines is somewhat reduced. But a guest on Fox News falsely claimed the delta variant “really is not responsive at all, or protected at all by the vaccines” and there is “no clinical reason to go get vaccinated.”