Daily Debunk
Claim: The U.S. government has conceded that polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests are not reliable for diagnosing COVID-19.
Verdict: False
Read the full story at: FactCheck.org
Social Media Disinfo
Circulating on social media: Claim that numbers reported to the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) as deaths following COVID-19 vaccinations prove the vaccines have killed people.
Verdict: Missing context
Read the full story at: Reuters
Factual Reads on Coronavirus
Why it’s still so hard to find treatments for early COVID-19
Scientists are learning surprising lessons about why promising drugs fail in clinical trials.
--ScienceNews, July 27
Spaniards put faith in COVID-19 vaccines even as cases surge
[T]he emphasis on vaccines as the salvation could also have contributed to Spain’s young letting down their guards as curfews and face mask requirements were lifted, just as the delta variant arrived. The result is that, despite its smooth vaccine rollout, Spain is currently one of Europe’s hot spots for new infections.
-- Associated Press, July 25
Vaccinated people make up 75% of recent COVID-19 cases in Singapore, but few fall ill
While the data shows that vaccines are highly effective in preventing severe cases, it also underscores the risk that even those inoculated could be contagious, so that inoculation alone may not suffice to halt transmission.
-- Reuters, July 23
Covid-19 kept families and caregivers out of hospitals. Some doctors think that shouldn’t happen again
[P]atients and many physicians say the more restrictive ongoing limits, like only allowing one visitor, are no longer justified and may actually be harming patients’ mental health and leading to worse outcomes.
-- Stat, July 20
Covid-19 global updates: Protests hit Athens and Paris over new coronavirus restrictions, vaccine mandates
Protests flared in France and Greece on Wednesday as residents angry over coronavirus curbs and vaccine mandates in both countries marched against new, stricter regulations that they say discriminate against people unwilling to be inoculated.
-- Washington Post (via MSN), July 15
Flu jab protects against some of the severe effects of COVID-19, including ICU admissions, sepsis and strokes
The flu vaccine may provide vital protection against COVID-19, new research being presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), held online this year, concludes.
-- Medicalxpress.com, July 12
Covid-19 has destroyed 22 million jobs in advanced countries, says OECD
Job retention schemes have saved some 21 million jobs, but rich countries face the threat of rising long-term unemployment rates.
-- CNBC, July 7
Implications of the second wave of COVID-19 in India
Understanding why the second wave has been more dangerous than the first could help to identify the potential areas of diagnostics to target with future control strategies.
-- The Lancet, June 30
The Best Coronavirus Myth-Busting Collections
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