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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Health & medicine fact checks

Explore claims publishers have checked about health & medicine. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.

13,673 published reviews in this topic

dpaHealth & medicine

Geen coronamaatregelen meer in België.

Publisher’s rating: Het bericht klopt niet. De maatregelen in België zijn nog altijd van kracht. Gisteren (7 juni 2021) kwam het hof van beroep in Brussel hier nog met een uitspraak over. Eerder kwam dpa al met een factcheck over een soortgelijke onjuiste claim.

The post by RT Benelux claimed that Belgium was “liberated” and was the first EU country without coronavirus measures because, it said, Belgian courts had blocked them. The review says that claim was false: the measures remained in force, and on 7 June 2021 the Brussels Court of Appeal ruled on their legal basis. The post relied on a blog that asserted a judge had ordered the measures lifted within 30 days after a 31 March ruling, and then inferred that they had been lifted after 60 days. The review notes that the blog did not explain the basis for that inference and that its author later posted a correction. The appeal ruling held that the measures did have a legal basis, while flagging a constitutional concern about the power to restrict fundamental rights resting with one minister. The Constitutional Court still had to give a final ruling; meanwhile, the measures remained valid. The review also distinguishes the original 31 March decision from a general suspension of the measures: the court handling that case could rule only in individual matters, not suspend measures with general effect. So that earlier decision did not make the nationwide measures automatically invalid after 30 or 60 days.

Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

Wenn man keine Angst vor Viren hat, dann können sie einem kaum etwas anhaben.

Publisher’s rating: Die Behauptung ist falsch, so Forscher. Keine Angst zu haben schützt nicht vor Virusinfektionen und auch nicht vor einem schweren Krankheitsverlauf nach einer Infektion. Wissenschaftliche Studien belegen allerdings, dass chronischer Stress das Immunsystem schwächt.

The review examined posts claiming that viruses can scarcely harm someone who is not afraid of them. The posts introduced the idea with an anecdote about an alleged scientific experiment. To assess the claim, the German Press Agency asked researchers about the evidence on stress, fear and immune response. Neuroimmunologist Silvia Capellino said research does show effects of stress on the immune system, but that does not mean fearlessness protects against viruses. The review also reported Manfred Schedlowski’s assessment specifically about SARS-CoV-2: he said there was no functional link between fear and the risk of infection. Fear does not make a person more susceptible, and having no fear does not protect against the virus. The review said the expert knew of no evidence for such a link and therefore no scientific studies demonstrating it. It also cautioned against treating all stress alike: a study at Capellino’s institute found that brief stress, such as before an exam, could strengthen immune response, while constant stress appeared to weaken it. Those findings concern stress and immunity; they do not establish that fearlessness prevents infection or severe illness.

dpaHealth & medicine

E-mails van Fauci bewijzen dat virus in lab is gemaakt, dat maskers niet werken en dat hydroxychloroquine wel werkt.

Publisher’s rating: De e-mails van en naar dr. Anthony Fauci tonen niet aan dat Fauci 'wist dat het virus in een lab was gemaakt', dat maskers niet werkten of dat hydroxychloroquine wél werkt en dat hij dit bewust achterhield. De vrijgegeven mails geven wel inzicht in hoe iemand van standpunt kan veranderen, en hoe beleid kan veranderen, op basis van nieuw wetenschappelijk bewijs. De beschuldigingen jegens Fauci worden gedaan zonder rekening te houden met de tijd waarin de mails werden verstuurd. Er was destijds nog veel minder wetenschappelijke informatie rondom COVID-19 beschikbaar, en ook nu is er nog van alles onduidelijk en onbewezen.

dpaHealth & medicine

COVID-19 geen A-ziekte dus gelden maatregelen niet

Publisher’s rating: Het bericht klopt niet. COVID-19 staat inderdaad in de Wet publieke gezondheid niet in groep A, maar is wel als dusdanig aangemerkt door toenmalig minister Bruins. En dat is voldoende om de ziekte op die manier te behandelen, aldus artikel 20 van diezelfde wet.

dpaHealth & medicine

Les masques buccaux ne protègent pas.

Publisher’s rating: Le message est trompeur. La même notice souligne que ces masques « limitent la projection des secrétions du porteur par voie aérienne ou voie de gouttelettes ». Le port d’un masque buccal « n’est pas fait en premier lieu pour se protéger, mais bien pour protéger les autres. Autrement dit, vous serez protégé par les gens portant un masque autour de vous », relèvent d’ailleurs les autorités belges sur le site infocoronavirus.be.

The Facebook post showed a leaflet for a “three-ply blue hygiene mask” and used its warning that the product does not protect against viral or infectious contamination to suggest that the masks offer no protection. The review identifies these as comfort or non-medical masks, not surgical masks: they had not been tested to European standard EN 14683 and could not be labelled surgical masks or medical devices. The leaflet’s warning addresses protection for the person wearing that particular mask, but it also says the masks limit the wearer’s dispersal of secretions through the air or droplets. The review reports that Belgium’s Federal Public Service Economy likewise described comfort masks as insufficient protection for the wearer, while saying they can help curb coronavirus spread when combined with other precautions. It also said the wearer can gain protection when people nearby wear masks. Thus, the post’s broad conclusion leaves out the distinction between protecting others and providing adequate self-protection. The review quotes Nioucha Mamaghani, a Brussels-based importer and distributor of medical masks, saying it was false to conclude that this type of mask offers no protection. It also notes that the masks shown were not equivalent to surgical masks meeting EN 14683, whose filtration effectiveness it describes as increased. The evidence therefore supports a qualified conclusion: the pictured comfort masks did not offer sufficient protection to their wearer, but that does not mean they offered no protective benefit.

Fact CrescendoHealth & medicine

केरल के कोरोना पीड़ित ईसाई दम्पति ने एम्बुलेंस में केवल इसलिए बैठने से इनकार कर दिया क्योंकि उस एम्बुलेंस पर हिन्दू देवता श्री हनुमान जी का स्टीकर लगा था। परिणाम दोनों की मौत हो गई

Publisher’s rating: False

Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

Pilzerkrankung wird durch Corona-Tests übertragen.

Publisher’s rating: Die Zahl der Mukormykose-Fälle war in Indien schon vor der Corona-Pandemie vergleichsweise hoch, unter anderem wegen der hohen Diabetikerrate. Auch die häufig bei Covid-19-Patienten angewendete Kortison-Behandlung kann die Ausbreitung des Pilzes begünstigen. Für eine Übertragung durch kontaminierte Abstrichstäbchen gibt es keinen Beleg, auch nicht in der genannten Studie.

The claim concerned mucormycosis, a fungal infection sometimes called “black fungus,” and alleged that its spores were spread by swabs used for PCR tests in India during the 2021 Covid-19 outbreak. The review explains that the fungus is widespread in soil and that people can be infected by inhaling its spores or through open wounds. It reports that the claim’s cited 2015 study did not establish transmission from swabs: it found traces of fungal DNA in test kits, but in the test reagents rather than on the swabs that contacted patients. [S1: “Mukormykose wird durch verschiedene Schimmelpilze verursacht, die weltweit im Boden verbreitet sind, wo sie totes, organisches Material wie Laub zersetzen. Die Sporen werden vom Wind weitergetragen.”; “Tatsächlich, so ist dort zu lesen, wurden schon Spuren von Pilz-DNA in Test-Kits gefunden (der «schwarze Pilz» wird nicht genannt). Jedoch fanden sich diese in den verschiedenen Reagenzien, den Nähr- und Nachweislösungen der Tests, und nicht auf dem Wattestäbchen, mit dem die Patienten intensiv in Berührung kommen.”] The review also sought specialist comment. Oliver Cornely, identified as head of the European Excellence Center for Invasive Fungal Infections at University Hospital Cologne, said he knew of no documented transmission of this fungus through materials such as swabs. He considered the proposed route highly unlikely because spores are inhaled with each breath and the infections in India were mainly in the sinuses, which a straight swab would reach only with difficulty. The review says neither the cited study nor the reporting it examined provided evidence that contaminated PCR swabs transmitted the infection. [S1: “Cornely erklärt gegenüber der dpa, er kenne auch keinen Fall, in dem die Übertragung dieses speziellen Pilzes durch Material wie Wattestäbchen nachgewiesen und beschrieben worden sei.”; “Die Sporen werden ja mit jedem Atemzug aufgenommen. Da braucht es kein kontaminiertes Wattestäbchen, um sie zu streuen”; “Der Aufsatz von 2015, der im Blog zitiert wird, belegt den Zusammenhang ebenso wenig.”] The review gives alternative context for the outbreak: it reports that India’s mucormycosis rate was comparatively high even before the pandemic, citing a 2019 data publication and diabetes as a major factor. It also describes steroid treatment used for Covid-19 as a possible contributor because it reduces immune defenses, and notes that a study found diabetes in 94% of Covid-19 patients who also contracted mucormycosis. These factors provide context for the cases but do not support transmission by test swabs. [S1: “In Indien aber war die Quote, wie im März 2019 veröffentlichte Daten zeigen, schon vor der Corona-Pandemie mit gut 140 Erkrankten pro einer Million Menschen vergleichsweise hoch.”; “Auch Therapien mit Steroiden wie Kortison, bei Covid-19-Erkrankungen eingesetzt, können die Ausbreitung des Pilzes begünstigen. Denn das Medikament verringert die Immunabwehr.”; “So weist eine jüngst publizierte Studie nach, dass dort 94 Prozent der Covid-19-Patienten, die sich zusätzlich mit dem «Schwarzen Pilz» infiziert haben, zuvor auch an Diabetes litten.”]

dpaHealth & medicine

De Jonge werd al meerdere keren gevaccineerd.

Publisher’s rating: De online berichten doen het lijken alsof al deze foto’s van een coronavaccinatie waren. Dat is echter onjuist. De twee foto’s waarbij De Jonge geen mondkapje draagt zijn gemaakt bij het krijgen van de griepprik in 2018 en 2019.

The claim arose from a social-media collage showing then-caretaker minister Hugo de Jonge receiving injections in three photos. The accompanying question—how often he had been vaccinated—could suggest that every image showed a coronavirus vaccination. The review distinguishes the fact that the images show three vaccination occasions from the implication that they were all COVID-19 shots. The review reports that De Jonge received his first coronavirus vaccination on 4 June 2021, when his birth year, 1977, became eligible. The photo at the lower right of the collage corresponds to that vaccination, and he is wearing a face mask in it. The other two photos show him without a mask and predate the pandemic, so they do not document additional coronavirus vaccinations. The review identifies those other images as photos De Jonge posted on his Twitter account on 1 November 2018 and 9 December 2019. Each was accompanied by encouragement for healthcare workers to get a flu shot. Thus, the collage does show De Jonge being vaccinated on multiple occasions, but its images span different years and include flu shots as well as the 2021 coronavirus vaccination.