Daily Debunk
Claim: For vaccine rates among Americans 65 and older, “there’s virtually no difference between white, Black, Hispanic, Asian American.” President Joe Biden, May 3.
Verdict: False
Read the full story at: PolitiFact
Social Media Disinfo
Circulating on social media: Claim that COVID-19 vaccines contain magnetic microchips.
Verdict: False
Read the full story at: Agence France-Presse
Factual Reads on Coronavirus
Investigate the origins of COVID-19
As scientists with relevant expertise, we agree with the WHO director-general, the United States and 13 other countries, and the European Union that greater clarity about the origins of this pandemic is necessary and feasible to achieve.
-- Science, May 14
Top scientists question the need for COVID-19 booster shots
COVID-19 vaccine developers are making ever bolder assertions that the world will need yearly booster shots, or new vaccines to tackle concerning coronavirus variants, but some scientists question when, or whether, such shots will be needed.
-- Reuters, May 13
A Misleading C.D.C. Number
When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines last month for mask wearing, it announced that “less than 10 percent” of Covid-19 transmission was occurring outdoors. ... [T]he number is almost certainly misleading.
-- New York Times, May 11
How India’s COVID-19 crisis became the worst in the world
New variants and relaxed public health measures likely fueled the country’s surge.
-- ScienceNews, May 9
The origin of COVID: Did people or nature open Pandora’s box at Wuhan?
Neither the natural emergence nor the lab escape hypothesis can yet be ruled out. There is still no direct evidence for either. So no definitive conclusion can be reached. That said, the available evidence leans more strongly in one direction than the other.
-- Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, May 5
US sees COVID-19 cases decline, travel increase
COVID-19 is on the retreat, as the United States reports a significant reduction in daily cases—a signal that the country's largest vaccination push in decades is beginning to beat back the virus.
-- CIDRAP, May 3
After a Year of Loss, South America Suffers Worst Death Tolls Yet
If the world doesn’t stop the region’s surging caseload, it could cost us all that we’ve done to fight the pandemic, one health official said.
-- New York Times, April 29
Decoded: How Do Vaccines Actually Work?
Vaccines are medicines that train the body to defend itself against future disease, and they have been saving human lives for hundreds of years.
-- Scientific American, April 29
Vaccinations are plateauing. Don’t blame it on ‘resistance’
Instead of talking up hesitancy, it’s time to talk about what motivates people to get vaccinated and identify the ongoing barriers to vaccination.
-- Stat, April 27
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
