COVID-19 Misconceptions
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SciCheck’s COVID-19/Vaccination Project is made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The foundation has no control over our editorial decisions, and the views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the foundation.
The goal is to increase exposure to accurate information about COVID-19 and vaccines, while decreasing the impact of misinformation. On this page, you’ll find answers to commonly asked questions, as well as links to our articles debunking misinformation. All of our COVID-19 stories can be found here.
Distortions of Science
SciCheck Digests
Fact Checks
- + Idaho Doctor Makes Baseless Claims About Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines
- + Viral Posts Misuse VAERS Data to Make False Claims About COVID-19 Vaccines
- + Video Wrong About Fauci, COVID-19
- + SciCheck Video: Don’t Confuse the Virus with the Disease
- + Viral Posts Distort WHO Guidance on COVID-19 Tests
- + Video Misinterprets Fauci’s Comments on COVID-19 Vaccine
- + Danish Study Doesn’t Prove Masks Don’t Work Against the Coronavirus
- + Trump Baselessly Alleges COVID-19 Vaccine Announcement Was Delayed
- + Trump Spins ER Statistic to Claim U.S. Is in ‘Great Shape’ on COVID-19
- + Azar, Trump Mislead on FDA’s Hydroxychloroquine Decision
- + Meme Misrepresents Fauci’s Position on Vaccine Trials
The Origins of COVID-19
SciCheck Digests
Fact Checks
- + New ‘Plandemic’ Video Peddles Misinformation, Conspiracies
- + Facebook Post Repeats Flawed Claim on Wuhan Lab Funding
- + Trump Spreads Distorted Claim on Wuhan Lab Funding
- + The Falsehoods of the ‘Plandemic’ Video
- + Baseless Conspiracy Theories Claim New Coronavirus Was Bioengineered
- + Coronavirus Wasn’t Sent by ‘Spy’ From Canada
Transmission
SciCheck Digests
Fact Checks
- + Tucker Carlson Misleads on COVID-19 Vaccines, Masks
- + What Science Says About Children, COVID-19 and School Reopenings
- + Trump Wrongly Blames Protests, Mexico for COVID-19 Spread
- + Unpacking WHO’s Asymptomatic COVID-19 Transmission Comments
- + COVID-19 Isn’t Caused by Bacteria
- + No Evidence That Flu Shot Increases Risk of COVID-19
- + Coronavirus Hasn’t Contaminated Crab Legs
The Existence and Virulence of SARS-CoV-2
SciCheck Digests
Fact Checks
- + Meme Featuring DeSantis Presents Misleading Picture of COVID-19 and Vaccine Safety
- + Flawed Report Fuels Erroneous Claims About COVID-19 Death Toll
- + Biden Hasn’t Reduced COVID-19 Testing at the Border
- + What Do the New Coronavirus Variants Mean for the Pandemic?
- + Instagram Post Distorts Facts on COVID-19 Death Reporting
- + Flawed Analysis Leads to False Claim of ‘No Excess Deaths’ in 2020
- + Meme Distorts Facts on Annual Death Statistics
- + Trump’s Deceptive Comparison of the Coronavirus to the Flu
- + Trump’s False Claim on Coronavirus Harm
- + Trump Baselessly Claims Coronavirus Will ‘Go Away’ Without Vaccine
- + False Perception of COVID-19’s Impact on the Homeless
Diagnosis And Tracing
Prevention
SciCheck Digests
Fact Checks
- + Stories Falsely Cite ‘Stanford Study’ to Misinform on Face Masks
- + Tucker Carlson Misleads on COVID-19 Vaccines, Masks
- + Posts Distort CDC Study Supporting Mask Mandates to Reduce COVID-19
- + SciCheck Video: How Viral Deceptions Spread
- + Video Airs False, Misleading Claims About Face Masks
- + Headlines Distort the Facts on CDC Mask Order
- + Video Wrong About Fauci, COVID-19
- + Danish Study Doesn’t Prove Masks Don’t Work Against the Coronavirus
Preventatives and Treatment
SciCheck Digests
Fact Checks
- + Idaho Doctor Makes Baseless Claims About Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines
- + Uganda’s Low COVID-19 Cases Due to Restrictions, Not Hydroxychloroquine
- + Asthma Medicine Not Proven as COVID-19 ‘Cure’
- + In Viral Video, Doctor Falsely Touts Hydroxychloroquine as COVID-19 ‘Cure’
- + Does Vitamin D Protect Against COVID-19?
- + Trump’s False Coronavirus Claim About Lupus Patients
- + Lemon Juice Tea Does Not Cure COVID-19 in Israel, or Anywhere Else
- + No Evidence to Back COVID-19 Ibuprofen Concerns
- + Gargling Water With Salt Won’t ‘Eliminate’ Coronavirus
- + Fake Coronavirus Cures, Part 3: Vitamin C Isn’t a Shield
- + Fake Coronavirus Cures, Part 2: Garlic Isn’t a ‘Cure’
- + Fake Coronavirus Cures, Part 1: MMS is Industrial Bleach
Vaccination
SciCheck Digests
- + What does it mean to say a vaccine has 94% percent efficacy or higher?
- + What side effects should you expect if you get a COVID-19 vaccine?
- + How do we know what ingredients are in a vaccine?
- + How do we know vaccines are safe?
- + How safe are the vaccines?
- + How effective are the vaccines?
- + How were the vaccines tested?
- + How long will a person be protected if vaccinated?
- + What percentage of a community has to have immunity to prevent spread?
- + Could a COVID-19 vaccine become mandatory?
- + How much will a COVID-19 vaccine cost?
- + How can I report a potential safety issue?
- + Why are the vaccines being authorized on an emergency basis, and how is that different from full approval?
- + How were safe and effective vaccines developed so rapidly?
- + If I get vaccinated, can I return to my normal activities without precautions?
Fact Checks
- + Meme Featuring DeSantis Presents Misleading Picture of COVID-19 and Vaccine Safety
- + Vaccines Benefit Those Who Have Had COVID-19, Contrary to Viral Posts
- + Irish Professor Makes Unfounded Claims About Long-Term Effects of mRNA Vaccines
- + Idaho Doctor Makes Baseless Claims About Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines
- + Tucker Carlson Misleads on COVID-19 Vaccines, Masks
- + The Facts on the Recommended J&J Vaccine ‘Pause’
- + Viral Posts Misuse VAERS Data to Make False Claims About COVID-19 Vaccines
- + Pfizer CEO Got Vaccinated, Contrary to Claim in Video
- + Texas Doctor Spreads False Claims About COVID-19 Vaccines
- + Instagram Post Misrepresents FDA Document About Monitoring Vaccine Safety
- + Hagler’s Widow Refutes Rumors About How He Died
- + RFK Jr. Video Pushes Known Vaccine Misrepresentations
- + Video Targets Gates With Old Clip, Misleading Edit
- + Pace of U.S. Vaccinations vs. the World
- + A Guide to Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 Vaccine
- + No Evidence Vaccines Impact Fertility
- + Biden’s Misleading Vaccine Boasts
- + Instagram Post Makes Invalid Comparison Between COVID-19 and Flu Vaccines
- + Video Makes Bogus Claims About ‘War Crimes’ and COVID-19 Vaccine Safety
- + Video Uses Bogus Claims to Stoke Race-Based Fears of COVID-19 Vaccine
- + Hank Aaron’s Death Attributed to Natural Causes
- + Video Misinterprets Fauci’s Comments on COVID-19 Vaccine
- + Viral Video Makes False and Unsupported Claims About Vaccines
- + A Guide to Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine
- + Anti-Vaccine Posts Use Deceptively Edited Video Clip
- + Q&A on COVID-19 Vaccines
- + Alabama Officials Debunk False Claim of COVID-19 Vaccine Death
- + COVID-19 Vaccines Don’t Have Patient-Tracking Devices
- + Vaccine Recipient Targeted With Baseless ‘Crisis Actor’ Claim
- + A Guide to Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 Vaccine
- + Paul Misleads on Natural Infection and COVID-19 Vaccines
Misrepresentation of Government Guidance
SciCheck Digests
Fact Checks
- + Idaho Doctor Makes Baseless Claims About Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines
- + Headlines Distort the Facts on CDC Mask Order
- + Video Uses Bogus Claims to Stoke Race-Based Fears of COVID-19 Vaccine
- + Viral Posts Distort WHO Guidance on COVID-19 Tests
- + Biden Adviser Didn’t Propose Requiring COVID-19 Vaccine for Food Stamps
- + Viral Article Distorts Military’s Role in Vaccine Distribution
- + Facebook Posts Distort Facts on Trump Actions
- + Misinformation on COVID-19 Death Protocols in New York
Conspiracy Theories
Fact Checks
- + Idaho Doctor Makes Baseless Claims About Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines
- + Trump Baselessly Alleges COVID-19 Vaccine Announcement Was Delayed
- + CDC Did Not ‘Admit Only 6%’ of Recorded Deaths from COVID-19
- + Legislative History of CARES Act Doesn’t Prove COVID-19 Conspiracy
- + Hospital Payments and the COVID-19 Death Count
- + Trump and the ‘New Hoax’