President Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, have made competing claims about the administration’s plans to distribute COVID-19 vaccines. We look at the planning to date.
Dueling Trump, Biden Claims on COVID-19 Vaccination Distribution
Issues: coronavirus
Trump Ad Features Edited, Out-of-Context Biden Photos
President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign has released an ad that features edited and out-of-context photos to illustrate Joe Biden “hiding” in his basement rather than taking questions from reporters on the campaign trail.
Asthma Medicine Not Proven as COVID-19 ‘Cure’
A viral headline on Facebook claims that a vaccine isn’t “Needed” for COVID-19 because “There Is Already A Cure.” But the supposed “cure” is an asthma medication, touted by a Texas doctor, that has not yet been proven in clinical trials as an effective treatment for COVID-19 — though researchers are exploring its efficacy.
Trump’s Misleading COVID-19 Comparisons to Other Countries
In a flurry of tweets and remarks, President Donald Trump continued to distort the facts on the coronavirus pandemic.
COVID-19 Nasal Swab Test Does Not Cause Risk of Infection
A viral Facebook post makes the false claim that the nasal swab test for COVID-19 damages the “blood-brain barrier” and can therefore lead to brain infections. Medical experts say the swab test is completely safe.
Herman Cain Died of COVID-19, Not Cancer
Within hours after his passing, Facebook posts falsely claimed that former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain died of colon cancer, not COVID-19. Cain did battle and survive cancer in 2006, but his staff confirmed online that his death was due to the novel coronavirus.
COVID-19 Data-Reporting Changed, But Not Florida’s Case Count
As Florida’s COVID-19 case count rose to the second-highest in the U.S. in July, a former challenger for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s congressional seat falsely claimed on social media that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had made a “mistake” and subsequently reduced Florida’s count by 79,000 cases. There was no such adjustment.
FactChecking Trump’s COVID-19 Press Briefing
President Donald Trump, at a July 28 briefing, made a few false and misleading statements about COVID-19.
In Viral Video, Doctor Falsely Touts Hydroxychloroquine as COVID-19 ‘Cure’
A widely shared video, featuring a doctor falsely claiming hydroxychloroquine is a “cure” for COVID-19, ignited an online storm that resulted in the video being pulled by social media platforms. There is no known cure for COVID-19, and current scientific evidence hasn’t found that hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment.
Trump Didn’t Tweet In 2009 That He ‘Would Never Let Thousands’ Die in Pandemic
An image on social media falsely purports to show a tweet from Donald Trump in 2009, saying he “would never let thousands of Americans die from a pandemic while in office.” There is no evidence Trump ever posted that tweet.