The world is dealing with an unprecedented health crisis caused by a new virus. With new insights in the way COVID19 spreads, in the way the virus behaves and in the way to deal with the pandemic every day, it is now more important than ever to safeguard the information we share is accurate and fact-based. We have to inoculate ourselves against the fake news and misinformation that infect our newsfeeds and timelines at this crucial moment by fact-checking.
For the duration of the pandemic, I will try to give you an overview of the main issues in CoronaCheck, an Australian email newsletter with the latest from around the world concerning the coronavirus.*
SHE’S ALIVE
Image source: News Break NG
Elisa Granato, one of the first recipients of a trial vaccine for COVID-19 at the University of Oxford, has been the subject of false reports that she had died shortly after receiving the vaccine last week, Full Fact and Reuters have found.
However, Dr Granato (she’s a scientist herself) tweeted at the weekend that she was “doing fine” while the university stated in response to a Reuters’ query which confirmed that she was “alive and well”. The UK Department of Health and Social Care also tweeted that the news was “completely untrue”.
Dr Granato is one of the 800 participants who will either receive the trial vaccine or a control vaccine as part of the study.
ANTI-VAXXERS ON THE WARPATH AGAIN
Image source: Facebook
The Facebook post, which was shared in the US, Canada and Australia, offered advice on “how to legally decline a vaccine” but has been debunked by fact-checkers at AFP and Lead Stories.
The post suggests people should ask whether a vaccine (and presumably any future COVID-19 vaccine) contains “MRC-5” and whether it this could lead to an “iatrogenic reaction”. If the doctor administering the vaccine answers in the affirmative, as their Hippocratic Oath compels them, then a person apparently has the right to decline. “This is how we can legally (and respectfully) decline their offered mandated services and there is absolutely NOTHING they can do about it!”
But AFP found that while there were ways to refuse a vaccine legally in either the US, Canada or Australia, they were not those listed. For example, some Australian states mandate vaccinations for children enrolling in childcare or school, however, the vaccination itself is not compulsory and people maintain the right to choose whether to receive a vaccination.
SCAMMED
In Australia, digital scammers are using the coronavirus pandemic to con them into buying goods, sharing personal information and installing malicious software on their computers. This may well be the case in other countries too.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says that since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, it has received more than 1000 reports of bogus coronavirus-related schemes by scammers impersonating banks, retail stores, and the Tax Office, while the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has warned of scams involving fake Post emails.
In one case study detailed by the centre, a US-registered cyber attacker managed to send text messages to Australian phones looking as if to have come from official ‘myGov’ sources. The link in the message led to a website hosting a banking Trojan known to target Android phones to steal personal financial information.
FROM AMERICA
Image source: YouTube: Fox News
Comparisons between the coronavirus and various causes of death have been rife around the world with commentators, politicians and CEOs pushing for economies to reopen and for a return to business-as-usual.
One such comparison was made by TV’s “Dr Phil” — real name Phil McGraw —claiming during a Fox News interview that 45,000 Americans die every year in road accidents, 480,000 from smoking and 360,000 in swimming pools. The first two numbers were correct but, in reality, only 3,709 drowned in 2017, including those people who drowned in natural bodies of water and baths, not just swimming pools. An overstatement US by almost 10 times the actual figure, as PolitiFact found.
However, these apples-and-oranges comparisons are beside the point according to Arthur Caplan, the founding head of the division of medical ethics at the New York University School of Medicine.
“The issue isn’t how many people die of car crashes or swimming pool accidents or strokes or whatever. The question is whether they all happen at once and overwhelm the healthcare system.”
Given the massive amount of attention already given to Mr Trump ponderings whether disinfectant could be injected into the body to kill off the virus, or whether “very powerful” light could be a potential treatment, I will refrain from a detailed debunking of his suggestions here.
Things that don’t cure and/or prevent COVID-19**
#18: A few drops of hydrogen peroxide in the ear canal “This does not sound plausible. Liquids won’t penetrate the eardrum. In fact, it seals off the middle ear and prevents that from happening. Some drugs can be absorbed through the skin, but hydrogen peroxide is not one of them.” Dr Mark Prince, quoted by Lead Stories
*The facts in this article are derived from the Australian RMIT ABC Fact Check newsletters which in turn draw on their own resources and those of their colleagues within the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), of which RMIT ABC Fact Check is a member.
12 Responses to “COVID-19 Fact and Fiction #2”
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The knuckleheads protesting lockdowns and shelter-in-place will increase the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. During the 1918-19 flu pandemic, a group called the Anti-Mask League arose in San Francisco. They got the city council to relax regulations on wearing masks in public, and as a result flu cases in San Francisco spiked.
You nailed it, Freya…to which I agree.
Here…in TX, since Abbott has lessened the restrictions re: covid 19, some folks are going out w/no masks/gloves on. And..attending large gatherings, and opening the restaurants. I was reading some comments on ‘NextDoor’ last night, and most feel that it’s okay not to worry, and to go out w/no mask, with no worries.
That’s their opinion, but I differ, and will still stay home and still wear my mask and gloves.
I’m protecting myself (and family) from the others who think there’s nothing to worry about..
Speaking of large gatherings…On September 28, 1918, a Liberty Loan parade in Philadelphia, PA., prompts a huge outbreak of Spanish flu in the city. By the time the pandemic ended, an estimated 20 million to 50 million people were dead worldwide. *history
Thank you, Lona for your informative post.
Just a note about use of masks, P. Bowen –
The primary value of wearing “civilian masks” is to protect others from anything (especially possible asymptomatic or pre-case COVID-19) that one may be carrying. The cloth masks – home-made or bought – won’t provide particularly good protection from what others may be ‘distributing’: that requires medical/ surgical quality masks, and such quality masks should be kept for those working to care for the sick. But if other ‘civilians’ are wearing masks, they’re protecting you and anyone else they come close to –
And it is very important to wash masks well in hot water with soap after use – as well as being careful when removing the mask, & washing hands immediately after handling.
Pence’s refusal to wear a mask when visiting the Mayo Clinic was ego-centric and a terrible example to people in general.
Evelyn, Thanks! for your comment.
There is a small but real psychological effect – like the old joke that the cheapest hearing aid is a few pennies worth of wire. Wrap one end around your ear ads the other around your lapel. It doesn’t change your hearing, but people speak louder. I think wearing a mask could serve as a psychological reminder to keep one’s distance. Of course none of this has been tested.
Also, Los Angeles avoided the spike in 1918 that San Francisco experienced that was larger for SF than the original outbreak and Philadelphia had worse numbers than elsewhere because they exempted churches from the restrictions–thanks Pat and Freya for highlighting the history we should have learned from.
I guess I should be glad I haven’t seen fake news about the humans participating in the human vaccine trial that began around the beginning of the month in Seattle area.
One element of all the inappropriate comparisons is that for all those other causes and conditions, we know what is effective treatment for the injuries and conditions–we do not yet know that for this one–ER doctors speak of rapid changes in approaches as they get more experience and information. And those other conditions do not sicken or kill those providing them health care either, affecting the available resources for care. And all too often there is no taking into consideration that they are using an annual number vs. (usually) less than three months of numbers that are on an increasing trend.
Every week I see news or warnings about another scam. Thankfully some of them are about prosecutors and AGs shutting them down. This week’s price gauging news is about egg prices.
WHO’s recent warning that antibodies have not been confirmed to provide lasting immunity means to me vaccines may not prove to be permanent immunity either–kind of like why my state requires Rubella immunity testing, and a repeat vaccine if not showing immunity, for marriage licenses.
Thanks Lona. People have died from choices they made based on misinformation.
The one HUGE glaring error in Dr. Phil’s “logic” is that road accidents, smoking and drownings are …
Outstanding piece, Lona. In the US all the Trump* virus lies have one word in common: Republican! 💩
and Thank You!
It’s worth noting that “Dr” Phil isn’t a doctor of any kind. He’s just another snake oil salesman. A made for television huckster whose opinions aren’t worth the toilet paper they’re written on. Never watched his show but have seen enough clips to know he’s an idiot. Same for Dr. Oz, who is an actual medical doctor but eschews the practice of medicine for hawking ridiculous concoctions on television. Our right wing, as is the same with all “nationalists” around the globe is pandemically racist. They only show up on Fox which isn’t even news, it’s “entertainment” in the entertainment division of Fox overall. What a world we live in.
Thanks, Lona for the posts, interesting reading! :^) gene
Yeah. I’m going to stop feeling sorry for him that he had ancestors who were slaveholders. Clearly he came by them honestly.
I too agree with Freya regarding the idiots who are protesting against the lock down. Guess they’d rather gamble with their health?
Here in San Diego starting May 1, everyone must wear a mask when out in public. I know local grocery stores are already requiring masks. Costco won’t allow anyone in, starting next Monday, May 4 without a mask.
Great article. Excellent information.
Thanks Lona