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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.

13,676 published reviews in this topic

Deutsche Presse-AgenturHealth & medicine

Masken seien gesundheitsschädlich - so wird es immer wieder behauptet. «Durch Rückatmung unserer Ausatemluft entsteht unvermeidbar Sauerstoffmangel und eine Kohlendioxid-Überflutung», heißt es etwa in einem Video (ab Minute 3:10). Ein solcher Mangel schade dem Gehirn und hemme seine Entwicklung. Gerade für Kinder und Jugendliche seien Masken daher ein absolutes «No-No» (8:50). Denn der dadurch entstandene Schaden könne nicht rückgängig gemacht werden, warnt die Frau im Video. Sie bezeichnet sich als Neurologin und ist eigenen Angaben nach in Deutschland und London tätig. Das Video wird auch in Facebook-Postings verbreitet.

Publisher’s rating: Es ist falsch, dass ein Sauerstoffmangel durch die Rückatmung der Luft unter der Maske droht. Denn sie macht nur einen Bruchteil der Luft aus, die man einatmet. Auch die Gefahr einer Kohlendioxid-Vergiftung ist daher unrealistisch. Das Tragen einer Mund-Nasen-Bedeckung ist für gesunde Menschen unbedenklich.

The video at issue argues that breathing air trapped under a mask inevitably causes oxygen deprivation and carbon-dioxide buildup, with particular danger to children and adolescents. The review addresses those specific claims, including the video’s warning of lasting harm to children. It explains that the video treats the air under a mask as though it were all the air a person inhales, which is not the case. The review cites physician Michael Achenbach, spokesperson for Germany’s professional association of paediatricians. He says a healthy adult’s resting breath is roughly 500 millilitres to just under a litre, and can rise to several litres during exertion, while the space under a mask holds considerably less than 50 millilitres. The review also notes that air mixes through the mask material and enters at the sides. On that basis, it says ordinary masks do not cause oxygen deprivation; it reports that children can wear everyday masks, while Achenbach advises against completely closed dust-protection masks for children. For carbon-dioxide concerns, the review says ordinary masks are not fully sealed and that a dangerous increase is unlikely for healthy people. It distinguishes this from possible discomfort or increased breathing effort among patients with chronic respiratory weakness. It also challenges the video’s use of readings taken under masks: measurement devices shown in online videos may not be suitable for analysing breathed air. Even assuming elevated carbon dioxide under a mask, the review reports that the average concentration in inhaled air would be about 0.1–0.2 percent, depending on ambient-air levels, and cites the German Environment Agency’s thresholds as not being exceeded.

First CheckHealth & medicine

Drinking tea cures Covid-19

Publisher’s rating: While the popular drink may be beneficial for health in general, it certainly doesn’t have any curative powers against the deadly virus.

BBC Reality CheckHealth & medicine

"There were 44 people [health experts working for the US] on the ground [in China]...All those 44 people came home, never got replaced."

Publisher’s rating: The number of personnel working at the CDC office in China has fallen under President Trump, but Mr Biden's figures aren't right.

The claim was made by Joe Biden during a presidential town hall and concerned the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention office in China. The review examined CDC staffing figures to assess whether 44 US health experts had all left and gone unreplaced. Its evidence shows a substantial reduction in the office’s staffing, but not that all personnel had left: the CDC website reported 14 staff in China in March 2020, including three from the US and 11 locally employed. A year earlier, there had been 47 staff—eight US employees and 39 locally recruited. The figures therefore distinguish total office staff from US employees and do not support the claim that everyone had come home. The review also gives relevant context about US experts’ access to China. In late January, Health Secretary Alex Azar said the US had offered to send a CDC team on 6 January, and that the offer was repeated later that month and in February. Two US experts did enter China as part of a World Health Organization multinational delegation in mid-February. This supports the narrower point that US experts were present, while the staffing figures contradict the assertion that all the personnel had left without replacement.

ComprovaHealth & medicine

Diretor da OMS afirma que a organização não defende o lockdown para conter a covid-19

Publisher’s rating: ENGANOSO: A fala de um enviado especial da OMS, tratado em um post no Twitter como diretor da entidade, foi tirada de contexto. A entidade admite que há impactos econômicos e sociais negativos com a adoção de lockdown, mas isso não significa que a OMS tenha mudado de opinião. Políticas de isolamento continuam sendo parte da estratégia de contenção de contágio, para “achatar a curva” de contágio e evitar a superlotação de hospitais

USA TODAYHealth & medicine

Joe Biden said he wanted to 'lock down our nation until we have a vaccine ready'

Publisher’s rating: False

The claim originated in a Facebook meme posted on Oct. 12, 2020, which attributed a longer statement to Biden: that he would lock down the country until a vaccine was ready and everyone was vaccinated. USA TODAY reports that Biden’s campaign called the quote “completely and thoroughly fabricated.” The review also compared the meme’s assertion with Biden’s public statements and COVID-19 plans. In an August interview, Biden said he would do what was needed to save lives and control the virus. Asked what he would do if scientists recommended closing the economy, he answered that he would shut it down and listen to the scientists. Those remarks describe a decision conditional on expert advice, not a commitment to remain in lockdown until a vaccine was ready. The review also examined Biden’s remarks during the Sept. 29 debate and his website’s reopening plans. It reports that he criticized the administration’s lack of a plan and described support for businesses as part of reopening; none of the COVID-19 plans on his website called for keeping the country shut until a vaccine debuted. The evidence presented therefore distinguishes his stated willingness to follow scientists’ advice from the meme’s categorical, vaccine-dependent pledge.