To study the role of the spike protein in the severity of COVID-19 illnesses, researchers exposed 10 mice prone to develop severe disease to a hybrid version of the virus. Eight mice died. Social media posts say researchers created a dangerous new variant with an “80 PERCENT Kill Rate,” potentially leaving the false impression that this pertains to humans. Also, the hybrid virus used in the study had a lower mortality rate than the original virus had on mice.
Issues: coronavirus
States Determine School Immunization Requirements, Not CDC
Vaccines are added to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s immunization schedule after consultation with an outside advisory group and when the benefits outweigh the risks. Contrary to claims from Tucker Carlson and others, the COVID-19 vaccines will not become mandatory in schools just by being added to the CDC schedule. States and local districts make those determinations.
It’s Not News, Nor ‘Scandalous,’ That Pfizer Trial Didn’t Test Transmission
The COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials were designed to study the vaccine’s safety and efficacy in preventing symptomatic disease, not transmission. But online publications now misleadingly present the fact that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was not tested for transmission as a “shocking admission” and proof that the company and the government lied.
In Context: Laxalt’s Comments on Latino Businesses
No Indication Breast Milk After Vaccination Unsafe, Despite Posts About New Study
COVID-19 Vaccine Opponents Misrepresent CDC Webcast on Causes of Blood Clots
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hosted an online seminar about the treatment of blood clots, which is expected to grow as the U.S. population ages and the obesity rate increases. But some vaccine opponents misrepresented the webinar to falsely suggest that the projected rise in blood clots is related to the COVID-19 vaccines.
Posts Take Biden’s Vaccination and Hurricane Prep Comments Out of Context, Again
Last year, President Joe Biden made a special plea to residents in hurricane-prone states to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in advance of possible evacuations or shelter stays. Now, as Hurricane Ian approached Florida, social media posts recycled an old clip of his comments to misleadingly claim he thinks the vaccines will protect against the storm.
Q&A on Omicron-Updated COVID-19 Boosters
Biden’s Misleading Claims About the Economic Recovery and Unemployment
When President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law in March 2021, U.S. gross domestic product had increased for three quarters straight, and the unemployment rate had decreased nearly nine percentage points from its pandemic peak. But Biden wrongly credited the Democratic COVID-19 relief bill with rescuing a U.S. economy “in decline.”
Is the Pandemic ‘Over’? Biden Says So, But Scientists Say That’s Up for Debate
In a surprise moment in a “60 Minutes” interview, President Joe Biden said the COVID-19 pandemic “is over.” While he correctly acknowledged that the coronavirus was still a problem, epidemiologists say there’s no single agreed-upon definition for what constitutes the end of a pandemic — and some say we’re not there yet.