Daily Debunk
Claim: “[V]accines are not safe during pregnancy … there’s no research on COVID vaccines during pregnancy because it's unethical to do so."
While Moderna has advised male and female COVID-19 vaccine trial participants to abstain "from all activities that could result in pregnancy" — the exclusion of pregnant women from clinical research is not atypical as they are viewed to be medically complex, potentially complicating research studies.
Verdict: Misleading
Read the full story at: USA Today
Social Media Disinfo
Circulating on social media: A social media post attributed to Rob Oswald, “a PhD in virology and immunology,” claims that positive COVID-19 samples sent to university labs found no SARS-CoV-2, but flu instead. It says that there is no such thing as COVID-19.
Verdict: False
Read the full story at: KHOU 11
Factual Reads on Coronavirus
Covid: What do we know about China's coronavirus vaccines?
As the global race to produce a COVID-19 vaccine continues, China appears to have made huge strides. But what do we know about China's vaccines and how do they compare to those developed elsewhere?
-- BBC, December 30
What We Know About the New U.K Variant of Coronavirus -- And What We Need To Find Out
A new variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly in England and raising international alarms. Scientists say the variant is likely more contagious than previous versions of the virus.
-- NPR, December 22
How gendered disinformation adapts to the context of Covid-19
-- European Federation of Journalists, December 21
EXPLAINER: Are new coronavirus strains cause for concern?
-- The Associated Press, December 20
COVID vaccine race leaders likely won’t be only ones to reap huge payday
Therapeutics and law expert lays out the economics of this drug development.
-- The Harvard Gazette, December 17
Misting the White House between administrations won’t kill Covid-19 — and it could be harmful, experts say
[P]rominent expert organizations are clear: misting or fogging disinfectants is not a good way to fight Covid-19.
-- Stat, December 16
Behind Each of More Than 300,000 Lives Lost: A Name, a Caregiver, a Family, a Story
More than 300,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States.
-- Kaiser Health News, December 15
The coronavirus at 1: A year into the pandemic, what scientists know about how it spreads, infects, and sickens
The coronavirus behind the pandemic presents some vexing dualities.
-- Stat, December 14
The US is about to begin the first big test of Covid-19 vaccine distribution
What we can learn from the initial phase of vaccinating health care workers in the US.
-- Vox, December 10
Despite promise, few in US adopting COVID-19 exposure apps
Fewer than half of U.S. states and territories — 18 in total — have made such technology widely available. And according to a data analysis by The Associated Press, the vast majority of Americans in such locations haven’t activated the tool.
-- Associated Press, December 6
Federal hospital data system falters at tracking pandemic
A Science examination ... found the HHS data for three important values in Wisconsin hospitals—beds filled, intensive care unit (ICU) beds filled, and in-patients with COVID-19—often diverge dramatically from those collected by the other federal source, from state-supplied data, and from the apparent reality on the ground.
-- Science, December 4
Inside China’s response to COVID
Researchers and officials reveal how the pandemic has shifted the country’s scientific landscape and global reputation.
-- Nature, December 2
The Covid-19 vaccines are a marvel of science. Here’s how we can make the best use of them
It appears science may have found the Covid-19 pandemic’s off-ramp.
-- Stat, December 2
The Best Coronavirus Myth-Busting Collections
COVID19 Infodemics Observatory
Reliable Coronavirus Information
U.S. Centers for Disease Control
Federation of American Scientists
Johns Hopkins University & Medicine
