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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 image13,677 published reviews in this topic
Vaccines do not cause autism
Publisher’s rating: True
Related reporting directly addresses the claim, but the excerpts do not provide a full review of the scientific studies or describe a detailed fact-checking method. A report about changes to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website says the page’s revised wording suggested studies had not ruled out a link between infant vaccines and autism. It contrasts that wording with the Autism Science Foundation’s statement that “the science is clear that vaccines do not cause autism” and says the preponderance of scientific evidence shows there is no connection. The report also says studies claiming a connection had been fraudulent, poorly done, or biased, while credible studies found no relationship. A separate medical-information article gives a direct answer to “Is autism caused by vaccines?”: “No, there is absolutely no scientific evidence to support the claim that vaccines cause autism,” and says the claim has been debunked by numerous studies and health organizations. These excerpts support the claim, but they do not identify or assess the individual studies behind that conclusion. Accordingly, this related reporting is not a substitute for the original Africa Check review or a detailed account of its evidence.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison claims that bulk-billing rates are at their highest level in Australia.
Publisher’s rating: Mostly True - Mostly accurate, but there is a minor error or problem.
Bill Gates refused to vaccinate his own children
Publisher’s rating: Hoax
The world’s first human head transplant has been successfully achieved
Publisher’s rating: Incorrect
Related reporting recounts that Sergio Canavero, an Italian neurosurgeon, announced in 2018 that he would perform what he called a cephalosomatic anastomosis in China by the end of that year. This is evidence of an announced plan, not evidence that a human head transplant was successfully carried out. The supplied excerpt gives no account of a completed operation or its outcome. Accordingly, this evidence does not substantiate the claim that the world’s first human head transplant was successfully achieved. It also does not, by itself, document what ultimately happened to Canavero’s announced plan. The available material supports only the narrower point that the procedure was publicly announced as a future undertaking.
Affordable medicines with PM bharatiya janaushadi kendras , resulting in savings of over 50%
Publisher’s rating: UNVERIFIED
AMRIT pharmacies provide drugs for cancer and cardiovascular diseases at a discount of 60 to 90 percent
Publisher’s rating: FALSE
The claim concerns AMRIT pharmacies in India and says they provide cancer and cardiovascular medicines at discounts of 60 to 90 percent. FACTLY examined the claim using information it attributed to a Lok Sabha response and to HLL Lifecare Ltd., the company operating the pharmacies. The review describes AMRIT’s purpose as providing affordable medicines and medical supplies for cancer, cardiovascular and other diseases, and notes that its first pharmacy opened at AIIMS in New Delhi in November 2015. The decisive figure in the review is not a 60-to-90-percent discount: HLL Lifecare reportedly said that patients could obtain an average discount of 50 to 55 percent at the time covered by the review. FACTLY therefore concluded that the pharmacies served the named disease areas, but that the claimed discount range was unsupported by the reported average. The excerpt does not provide a product-by-product breakdown, so it does not establish that every medicine had the same discount.
More than 3000 stores of affordable medicines with PM bharatiya janaushadi kendras.
Publisher’s rating: TRUE
1.5 lakh sub centers and primary health centers being transformed as health and wellness centers (HWCs) to provide comprehensive primary healthcare services.
Publisher’s rating: UNVERIFIED
The claim concerns a planned transformation of 1.5 lakh health sub-centres and primary health centres into Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs), not a statement that all 1.5 lakh had already opened. The review describes the programme’s aim as transforming these facilities by December 2022 to expand access to comprehensive primary health care. It also explains that the centres were intended to provide a wider range of services, including reproductive and child health care, care for communicable and non-communicable diseases, palliative and elderly care, and basic emergency care. To assess progress against the target, the review reports government figures for 2018–19: approvals had been given for more than 21,000 HWCs, against a target of 15,000 for that year, while 8,120 had been operationalized. It also notes that states decide where to locate HWCs because public health and hospitals are state subjects. These figures show that the national target was a future programme goal and that implementation was underway, but they do not establish that the full 1.5 lakh had been completed. The review therefore distinguishes the planned scale of the programme from the number operational at the time of the evidence it cites. Its conclusion reflects that distinction: the claim is framed as a future target, while the available figures document partial progress rather than completion.
"GP bulk-billing is up nearly 4 per cent from 82.2 per cent under Labor to a record 86.1 per cent under the Coalition Government — meaning that more patients are seeing their local GP without having to pay out-of-pocket costs."
Publisher’s rating: Half-baked
Greg Hunt’s claim combined two propositions: that GP bulk-billing rose from 82.2 per cent under Labor to a record 86.1 per cent under the Coalition, and that this meant more patients saw their GP without paying out of pocket. The review checked Department of Health statistics for the first proposition and examined what the bulk-billing measure actually counts to assess the second. The figures were correct as stated: the review reports that 82.2 per cent of GP services were bulk-billed when Labor was last in government, rising to 86.1 per cent by 2017/18. That was a rise of almost four percentage points and a record high. But the rate measures the proportion of services bulk-billed, not the proportion of patients who avoid out-of-pocket costs. A patient may receive several services at one visit, with some bulk-billed and others privately billed, so a higher service rate does not by itself establish that more individual patients pay nothing. The review cites an AIHW report finding that, among Australians with at least one Medicare-subsidised GP visit in 2016/17, 34 per cent paid out of pocket at some point during the year. It also reports that the AIHW described this as the first report of its kind, with comparable data unavailable for other years. The review therefore found that the service-rate increase supported the numerical part of Hunt’s statement, but did not establish its conclusion about how many patients avoided costs.
![Image accompanying Negli Stati Uniti d’America un cittadino americano per avere lo stesso tipo di cure che offre oggi il sistema sanitario nazionale [italiano] deve pagare un’assi](https://cdn.pagellapolitica.it/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/kc9sxhbrno85zfrryoxp.jpg)
Negli Stati Uniti d’America un cittadino americano per avere lo stesso tipo di cure che offre oggi il sistema sanitario nazionale [italiano] deve pagare un’assicurazione privata che costa all’incirca 10 mila dollari al mese, e la spesa sanitaria sul Pil americano è superiore.
Publisher’s rating: Nì
The claim combined two assertions made by Democratic Party secretary Nicola Zingaretti on the Rai 1 program Porta a Porta: that Americans pay about $10,000 a month for insurance to receive care like Italy’s national health system, and that U.S. health spending takes a larger share of GDP. The review found the spending comparison supported, but the monthly-premium figure substantially overstated. It notes that U.S. coverage comes from a mix of public programs and private insurance, so there is no single premium that applies to every American. To assess typical private premiums, the review reports National Conference of State Legislatures figures for 2018: annual employer-based insurance averaged $19,616 for a family and $6,896 for an individual. It also compares the claim with the most extensive “platinum” plan category described by HealthCare.gov. Even that category averaged $709 a month in 2018, according to the review, far below $10,000 a month. The article distinguishes premiums from possible expenses for particular medical procedures: an amount around $10,000 or more might be spent on an individual intervention, especially when the insured person is responsible for a large share of costs, but that is not an ordinary monthly premium. For the GDP comparison, the review cites OECD figures showing that in 2017 Italy spent 8.9% of GDP on health while the United States spent 17.1%. Thus, the two parts of the claim did not fare alike: the monthly insurance cost was inflated, while the comparison of national health spending as a share of GDP was correct.
Provide comprehensive health coverage up to Rs. 5 lakh per family per year to around 50 crore people.
Publisher’s rating: TRUE
葉黃素是甚麼？對保護視力有幫助嗎？
Publisher’s rating: 事實釐清
The review explains that lutein is a carotenoid found in foods such as leafy greens, orange-yellow fruits and vegetables, and eggs. The experts it consulted said the body cannot make lutein and must obtain it through food. They described lutein, together with related pigments, as part of the macular pigment in the retina, where it can filter high-energy blue light and provide antioxidant protection. The review presents this as a role in supporting eye health, not as a cure for existing damage. [S1] On whether lutein helps protect vision, the review cites research indicating that adequate lutein and zeaxanthin intake can lower the risk of macular degeneration, particularly in older people or people with macular disease. It also describes the AREDS and AREDS2 studies: the first examined a supplement formula containing vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and zinc; the later study tested replacing beta-carotene with lutein and zeaxanthin. The review’s account supports a potential risk-reduction role, but does not establish that lutein reverses damage or that supplements are necessary for everyone. [S1] The experts recommended obtaining lutein from a balanced diet where possible, noting that food intake can provide other nutrients too. The review says that fat in a meal can improve absorption from food, and that appropriately cooked plant foods may release more lutein than raw ones. It cautions that long-term supplement use may be associated with yellowing skin or eye deposits, and advises people with chronic illnesses to consult a doctor before taking supplements because interactions with some medicines have not been adequately clarified. Its practical conclusion is that supplements are not required for everyone and that people with vision concerns should seek professional care. [S1]
80.63 lakh pregnant women immunized.
Publisher’s rating: TRUE
FACTLY’s review checks a government infographic’s claim that 80.63 lakh pregnant women had been immunized. It places the figure in the context of Mission Indradhanush, launched in December 2014 to increase full immunization coverage, and its later Intensified Mission Indradhanush programme. The review says the first four phases of Mission Indradhanush, running from April 2015 to July 2017, covered 528 districts and immunized 68.79 lakh pregnant women. It adds that, as of 15 January 2018, 10.05 lakh pregnant women had been vaccinated under the intensified programme. Together, those earlier figures amount to 78.84 lakh. The review then cites “more recent data” reporting 81.780 lakh women immunized under the scheme. That is above the infographic’s 80.63 lakh figure, and FACTLY uses it to mark the claim TRUE. The excerpt does not identify the date, document or collection method for this more recent figure, so it does not permit an independent assessment of that underlying data or a precise comparison of reporting periods. The review’s stated support for its verdict is the later 81.780-lakh total, rather than the earlier 78.84-lakh sum. FACTLY also qualifies the claim’s novelty: it says immunization of pregnant women was not a new programme. Its account therefore supports the reported total while distinguishing the achievement figure from any suggestion that the activity began with the government making the claim.
More than 6 lakh high risk pregnancies identified.
Publisher’s rating: TRUE
FACTLY examined a government infographic making claims about benefits for pregnant women, including that more than 6 lakh high-risk pregnancies had been identified. The review places this figure within the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA), a programme launched in 2016, and identifies high-risk pregnancy detection and follow-up as one of its components. For this specific claim, the review reports that more than 7 lakh women with high-risk conditions had been identified since the programme began. That reported total is above the infographic’s threshold of more than 6 lakh, so the review concludes that the claim is supported. The comparison is between the claim’s stated minimum and the higher cumulative figure reported by the review; the excerpt does not provide a more precise total or a separate breakdown of the identified cases.