COVID-19 Archives - Page 12 of 48

Scientist Misleads on COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness and Vaccine Safety for Children

February 1, 2022

The approved and authorized COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. are effective at preventing severe disease, and experts say the benefits of vaccination for children outweigh any known or potential risk. But social media users have shared video of Dr. Robert Malone misleadingly asserting that the COVID-19 vaccines are “not working” and claiming without evidence that many children “will be hospitalized” and may experience brain damage and infertility due to the vaccines.

Studies Show Boosted Immunity Against Omicron with Booster Doses

January 28, 2022

Neither primary vaccination nor natural immunity is generally stopping infections with the omicron variant, but research shows booster doses substantially increase protection. Yet, Republican Sen. Rand Paul claimed that a case of COVID-19 provides “an immunity better than the vaccine.”

Dr. Fauci Still Treats Patients, Contrary to Dr. Oz’s Claim

January 28, 2022

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been working for nearly two years to help end the COVID-19 pandemic — even treating patients with the disease. But Dr. Mehmet Oz, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, falsely claimed that “Fauci’s never taken care of patients.”

Posts About ‘Cross Reactants’ Misrepresent Accuracy of COVID-19 PCR Tests

January 28, 2022

Polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests for COVID-19 are highly accurate. People on social media, however, are circulating lists of germs that they baselessly claim will cause such tests to be falsely positive. In reality, it’s the opposite. The lists include pathogens that have been tested by the manufacturers and did not react to the test.

Trump on ‘Race-Based Medicine’ for COVID-19

January 25, 2022

At a rally in Arizona on Jan. 15, former President Donald Trump waded into the debate over state policies allowing health systems to consider race as a risk factor when prioritizing the allocation of limited supplies of some COVID-19 therapeutics. According to Trump, it translates to white people being denied life-saving medicines and vaccines.

Ted Nugent Posts Fake Headline, Claim About Sotomayor’s Health

January 21, 2022

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who as a diabetic is at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19, has participated remotely in recent Supreme Court arguments. But Ted Nugent posted a bogus headline on Facebook — using a CNBC logo and byline — with the unfounded claim that Sotomayor tested positive for the disease. A CNBC spokesperson said the outlet didn’t publish it.

Partisans Seize on Edited Clip of CDC Director’s Comments on COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness

January 19, 2022

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discussed a recent study that found that on the rare occasion when fully vaccinated people died from COVID-19, they often had multiple risk factors for severe disease. But her reference to vaccinated people was cut in a version of the interview — and conservative figures misleadingly claimed she was talking about all COVID-19 deaths.

Q&A on At-Home Rapid Tests

January 14, 2022

The demand for at-home, rapid COVID-19 tests — sparked by the fast-spreading omicron variant in December — has continued in 2022. With that demand have come questions about the tests’ efficacy, how to use them and where to get them. We answer those queries and more.

FactChecking the Justices’ COVID-19 Claims

January 10, 2022

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Jan. 7 challenging the Biden administration’s attempts to expand COVID-19 vaccinations. Here we present the facts on some COVID-19 claims made by the justices.

COVID-19 Far More Lethal Than a Cold, Contrary to Suggestion in Viral Video

December 22, 2021

COVID-19 has killed more than 805,000 people in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet a viral video on social media suggests the disease is the same as a “common cold.” COVID-19 is in the same family of some cold viruses, but its potential for a severe outcome — including death — is much higher than for the common cold.