FactCheck.org Author: Jessica McDonald

Social Media Swirls With Unsupported Claims About Cause of Justin and Hailey Bieber’s Medical Conditions

June 22, 2022

Pop star Justin Bieber announced he has Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a form of facial paralysis caused by a reactivation of the virus that causes chickenpox. Social media posts have claimed his condition was caused by COVID-19 vaccination, but there is no established link between vaccination and the syndrome. Some posts have also baselessly claimed vaccination was behind a mini-stroke suffered by Bieber’s wife, Hailey.

Vaccinated People Not More Susceptible to COVID-19 Than Unvaccinated

June 10, 2022

Q. Are vaccinated and boosted people more susceptible to infection or disease with the omicron variant than unvaccinated people?
A. No. Getting vaccinated increases your protection against COVID-19. Sometimes, certain raw data can suggest otherwise, but that information cannot be used to determine how well a vaccine works.

Ask SciCheck Files: The Relationship Between Mental Health and Mass Shootings

May 31, 2022

In the wake of mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, some officials have cited mental illness as a reason for the unprovoked attacks. But as we’ve explained before, having a mental illness isn’t predictive of who will perpetrate a mass shooting.

Q&A on Monkeypox

May 27, 2022

We explain what monkeypox is, what makes the outbreak unusual, and why it’s important to take seriously but unlikely to play out like the coronavirus.

Navarro Falsely Links Fauci to Pandemic Origin

May 19, 2022

The U.S. indirectly funded some bat coronavirus research at a lab in Wuhan, China. But those experiments could not have led to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, because the viruses used were very different. Yet former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro repeated a false claim that Dr. Anthony Fauci “killed a lot of people” by funding the lab.

Q&A On Paxlovid, Pfizer’s COVID-19 Oral Antiviral

May 13, 2022

Once scarce, Paxlovid, an antiviral pill that is the preferred treatment for non-hospitalized high-risk COVID-19 patients, is no longer in such short supply. Here, we explain what the drug does, how well it works and what questions remain.

Pediatric Hepatitis Cases May Be Linked to Adenovirus, No Connection to COVID-19 Vaccination

May 2, 2022

A string of unexplained hepatitis cases in children has been reported in the U.S. and in other countries. The cause is not yet known, but the top suspect so far is a strain of adenovirus. Contrary to some social media posts, there is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccination is involved. Most of the children are too young to even qualify for the vaccine.

When the Science Is Messy: How SciCheck Handles Scientific Disputes

April 20, 2022

What does a fact-checking organization do when the facts aren’t clear? And what happens when reputable scientists disagree about a public health policy?

Q&A on Second COVID-19 Boosters for Older People

April 7, 2022

At the end of March, the Food and Drug Administration authorized a second COVID-19 booster dose for people 50 years of age and older. But the data supporting the extra shot is limited. Here, we break down the available evidence and share what scientists recommend.

Posts Misinterpret Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Monitoring Document

March 18, 2022

A Pfizer document recently released by the Food and Drug Administration describes adverse events reported following vaccination and attests to the continued safety of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine. A popular video and other online posts, however, incorrectly imply that the vaccine caused the events.