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Health & medicine fact checks
Explore claims publishers have checked about health & medicine. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.
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Search by text or image13,672 published reviews in this topic
Genesen schützt besser als geimpft vor Omikron.
Publisher’s rating: Je nach Corona-Mutante, die dominiert, sind mal Geimpfte und mal Genesene besser vor einer Re-Infektion geschützt. Das lässt sich immer erst hinterher feststellen, wenn eine Welle abflaut und viele Daten verfügbar sind. Für Omikron lässt sich die Frage derzeit noch nicht sicher beantworten: Erste Studien deuten aber darauf hin, dass Menschen, die nach einer Delta- oder Omikron-Infektion genesen sind, keine solide Immunantwort gegenüber einer (erneuten) Omikron-Infektion ausbilden.
Israel hatte am 2. Februar 2022 die höchste Zahl an Corona-Todesfällen pro Million Einwohner. 80 Prozent der schwer erkrankten sind geimpft.
Publisher’s rating: Mehrere Länder hatten zum angegebenen Zeitpunkt eine höhere Zahl von Corona-Todesfällen pro Million Einwohner als Israel. Die verwendete Grafik ist durch Auslassungen irreführend. Der Anteil der geimpften Menschen an den schweren Verläufen ist deutlich niedriger als behauptet.
The review examines two statements in an article: that Israel had the world’s highest COVID-19 death rate per million in the first week of February 2022, and that 80 percent of its severe cases were among fully vaccinated people. It finds that the graph supporting the deaths claim showed selected countries rather than a complete comparison. The review reports that on February 2, several countries had recorded more COVID-19 deaths per million over the preceding seven days than Israel; Bosnia and Herzegovina had the highest rate, followed by countries including North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Peru and Hungary. It says this comparison was based on Our World in Data, which in turn used data from Johns Hopkins University. (S1) For the vaccination claim, the review cites figures reported by the Israeli government on February 4, 2022: 1,138 active severe cases, of which 525 were vaccinated. That is about 46 percent, not 80 percent. The cited figures therefore address the proportion of active severe cases who were vaccinated at that time; the excerpt does not give a breakdown of vaccination status beyond that count. (S1) The review also provides relevant context for the period: Israel’s seven-day incidence was about 3,700 per 100,000 as of February 8, and it describes the country as experiencing its fifth infection wave since November, with the Omicron variant. Those details concern infection levels and the timing of the wave; they do not change the review’s separate comparisons of deaths per million and vaccination status among severe cases. (S1)
مجله لنست میگوید کووپارس، پیشرفتهترین واکسن استنشاقی دنیاست.
Publisher’s rating: نادرست
Lijkenzakken in Duitsland zouden covid gevaar bewijzen, maar de mensen erin leven nog.
Publisher’s rating: Het bericht klopt niet. Het gaat om een klimaatdemonstratie in de Oostenrijkse hoofdstad Wenen. De suggestie dat de lijkenzakken ook maar iets met het coronavirus te maken hebben, is dus onjuist.
The video was presented as showing a reporter in Germany beside body bags, with one supposed corpse moving. Posts used the scene to suggest that COVID-19 was devastating the population. The review identifies the footage instead as a climate protest in Vienna, Austria, so the video does not support the claim that the scene showed COVID-19 deaths. The review describes two checks on the footage. First, it points to the on-screen lower-third, which identifies Vienna rather than Germany. It also says that entering the remaining on-screen text into Google quickly led to a search result for “Wien: Demo gegen Klimapolitik” and an Austrian media report. That report’s video showed the same reporter, Marvin Bergauer, against the same background, and likewise showed one of the apparent “corpses” briefly coming to life. The review says the people in body bags were participating in a Fridays for Future protest against Austrian climate policy that took place in early February 2022. A banner stated that a climate-protection law saves lives. The footage therefore depicted a demonstration, not COVID-19 victims.
Las vacunas son peligrosas porque haya un aumento récord de notificaciones al VAERS.
Publisher’s rating: Falso
L'ivermectine est efficace contre le Covid.
Publisher’s rating: L'allégation est trompeuse.
The review investigates the claim that ivermectin is effective against Covid, which it traces to a February 1, 2022, Inside Paradeplatz article based on a Reuters report about Japanese company Kowa. The reports presented Kowa’s findings as evidence of effectiveness against Omicron. The review compares that coverage with Kowa’s January 31 press release and distinguishes the research it described: a pre-clinical study conducted with Kitasato University, alongside a phase III clinical trial that was still underway and had no results available. That distinction matters because the reported antiviral effect was observed in pre-clinical research, not established in people. The review explains that such research can involve cells or animals rather than human patients, and says Kowa did not disclose how it reached its conclusion. It also notes that substances such as bleach can kill Covid viruses in a Petri dish, illustrating why a laboratory effect alone does not establish a treatment’s usefulness in people. Reuters subsequently corrected its article. The review reports that the corrected headline described an antiviral effect according to a Japanese company, and that Reuters acknowledged its initial version had wrongly said clinical studies in humans had confirmed efficacy. The review further says available evidence from human trials was considered inconclusive by meta-analyses and the WHO, and quotes Swissmedic saying the announcement did not permit conclusions about effectiveness in humans. Its conclusion is that effectiveness against Covid in people had not been proved; further clinical trials were needed.
26 personnes sont décédées dans une maison de retraite au Luxembourg juste après avoir reçu un rappel de vaccin contre le Covid-19.
Publisher’s rating: L'affirmation sur la maison de retraite est fausse.
Chá de folha de goiabeira cura a Covid-19 e é melhor do que a vacina
Publisher’s rating: Falso
Im Biontech-Geschäftsbericht 2019 ist bereits vom Corona-Impfstoff die Rede, der erst 2020 entwickelt wurde.
Publisher’s rating: Der Biontech-Geschäftsbericht 2019 wurde erst am 14. Mai 2020 veröffentlicht. Biontech begann im Frühjahr 2020 mit der Entwicklung des Impfstoffes. Fakten
The WHO no longer recommends international travel bans and that proof of vaccination is “not necessarily needed.”
Publisher’s rating: Needs context
Un homme aujourd'hui à Trévise, près de Venise, s'est immolé par le feu à cause d'une amende pour défaut de passeport vaccinal.
Publisher’s rating: Trompeur
¿Biden anunció un nuevo beneficio en Medicare de asistencia dental gratuita?
Publisher’s rating: Falso/ Manipulado
Existe una “explosión de muertes” asociadas con la vacuna y reportadas en el VAERS
Publisher’s rating: No hay evidencias
Las vacunas ARNm "son una terapia genética"
Publisher’s rating: Falso
Las vacunas "son experimentales"
Publisher’s rating: Falso
The review identifies the claim as one made by physician Robert Malone during an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience.” It says Malone questioned COVID-19 vaccine safety and called the vaccines “experimental”; this is the specific claim the review evaluates, distinct from the episode’s other claims about vaccine-related deaths and gene therapy. The review’s conclusion is that COVID-19 vaccines were not experimental in the sense alleged: it states that their safety was confirmed by the CDC and that they had passed the phases required for authorization and approval. The excerpt cites CDC materials on vaccine safety and vaccine myths and facts, updated in December 2021 and February 2022, respectively. However, it does not reproduce those materials or explain their specific findings, so the supplied text supports the review’s stated conclusion but does not provide enough detail to independently assess the underlying safety evidence or approval process.
රටවල් 10ක කොරෝනා පරීක්ෂණ සහ අනිවාර්ය එන්නත් කිරීම අවලංගු කළ බවට ලැබුණු WhatsApp පණිවිඩයේ ඇත්ත!
Publisher’s rating: Misleading
The WhatsApp message claimed that ten countries had cancelled quarantine procedures, COVID-19 testing and mandatory vaccination, and were treating COVID-19 as seasonal flu. The review says it checked the countries’ COVID-19 guidance using international media reports and official government statements. It describes, among other examples, entry testing requirements for travellers to Turkey and Brazil, and testing or vaccination-related entry requirements for Sweden, Spain and Japan. The excerpt does not provide the same level of detail for every country named in the message. The review’s central finding is that some countries had eased restrictions, but none of the countries it examined had completely abandoned COVID-19 health guidance and precautions. It also says that COVID-19 was not being treated as ordinary seasonal flu, and notes that countries continued to emphasize vaccination and booster doses. These findings contradict the message’s broad claim that the listed countries had cancelled the measures and reclassified the disease. The review separately addresses the message’s assertion that gargling with warm salt water could eliminate the virus. It reports that it found no reliable scientific evidence supporting that claim. Thus, the WhatsApp message combines claims about government policy and disease classification with an unsupported health remedy; the review’s evidence supports calling the message misleading, rather than treating its claims as established facts.
Sucharit Bhakdi verfügt im Gegensatz zum Virologen Norbert Nowotny eine höhere fachliche Expertise.
Publisher’s rating: Norbert Nowotny ist Virologe, seine universitäre Ausbildung und langjährige Berufserfahrung qualifizieren ihn zur fachlichen Einordnung von Corona-Themen. Die Angaben zu Sucharit Bhakdis Verdiensten in der Vergangenheit stimmen. Zuletzt distanzierten sich aber mehrere Universitäten von seinen wissenschaftlich nicht fundierten Aussagen zur Corona-Pandemie. Neben irreführender Aussagen ist er in der Pandemie auch aufgrund möglicherweise strafrechtlich relevanter Vergleiche mit dem Nationalsozialismus aufgefallen.
The claim presents Sucharit Bhakdi as having greater professional expertise than virologist Norbert Nowotny. The review examines social-media posts that cite Bhakdi’s scientific achievements while portraying Nowotny as lacking relevant expertise, including by calling him a “zoologist” or “philosopher.” It finds that these portrayals omit Nowotny’s relevant training and experience: he studied biology, completed doctoral studies, and habilitated in virology at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna in 1997. The review also notes his work at that university’s Institute of Virology and professional roles in virology organizations. The review does not dismiss Bhakdi’s past achievements: it says the posts’ claims about his past merits are accurate. But it says those achievements do not establish that he has greater expertise on coronavirus topics. The review reports that the universities of Mainz and Kiel, where Bhakdi had previously worked, distanced themselves from his statements or ended their collaboration. It also cites examples of statements it describes as false or misleading and reports that Bhakdi made comparisons between coronavirus measures and the Holocaust or National Socialism. Taken together, the review’s evidence challenges the implied contrast: it documents Nowotny’s relevant virology credentials while identifying omitted context about Bhakdi’s pandemic-era statements and institutional affiliations.