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SciCheck’s COVID-19/Vaccination Project

Posts Misrepresent Moderna CEO’s Remarks on Vaccine Production

Posts Misrepresent Moderna CEO’s Remarks on Vaccine Production

Moderna’s CEO said in January that the company’s total production in 2019 was “100,000 dose,” referring to all its vaccines and therapeutics. Online posts distorted the remarks to falsely claim Moderna made COVID-19 vaccines “before the pandemic started.” Moderna’s first batch of COVID-19 vaccines wasn’t ready until February 2020.

Post Omits Paxlovid’s Ability to Protect Against Severe COVID-19, Death

Post Omits Paxlovid’s Ability to Protect Against Severe COVID-19, Death

Paxlovid, Pfizer’s COVID-19 antiviral pill, has been shown to prevent severe COVID-19 and death. An online post alleging the drug is a “fraud” and “should be taken off the market” neglects to mention this important information, and falsely says ivermectin is superior.

Evidence Still Lacking to Support Ivermectin as Treatment for COVID-19

Evidence Still Lacking to Support Ivermectin as Treatment for COVID-19

Randomized controlled trials haven’t found ivermectin is beneficial in treating COVID-19, although results for ongoing studies will provide a more definitive answer. Yet, a video presents two weak studies as “powerful” and “overwhelming” evidence that the medication works to combat COVID-19. 

Facebook Post Misleads on NIH’s Position on Ivermectin

Facebook Post Misleads on NIH’s Position on Ivermectin

The National Institutes of Health has not recommended and the Food and Drug Administration has not approved ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment. But a Facebook post misleadingly implies that an article published on the NIH website is an endorsement of the drug to treat COVID-19. The NIH and FDA have said more clinical studies are needed.  

Social Media Posts Repeat Inaccurate Reporting on Ivermectin and Omicron

Social Media Posts Repeat Inaccurate Reporting on Ivermectin and Omicron

A Japanese company found that the antiparasitic drug ivermectin showed an “antiviral effect” against the omicron variant in a lab setting. Reuters has corrected a story in which it “misstated” that the drug was effective in a phase 3 clinical trial with human subjects. Some social media users have repeated Reuters’ reporting error but have not repeated the correction.

Researchers Studying Whether Mouthwashes Can Reduce Viral Load, COVID-19 Transmission

Researchers Studying Whether Mouthwashes Can Reduce Viral Load, COVID-19 Transmission

In a Dec. 8 town hall meeting, Sen. Ron Johnson may have left a misleading impression in saying “standard gargle, mouthwash, has been proven to kill the coronavirus.” In the laboratory, some mouthwashes have been shown to block infectivity or suppress SARS-CoV-2, but studies involving people using mouthwash are not conclusive. Researchers are continuing to study the matter.

Aaron Rodgers’ Inaccurate COVID-19 Claims

Aaron Rodgers’ Inaccurate COVID-19 Claims

Aaron Rodgers, the star quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, made headlines when he contracted COVID-19 and then defended his decision not to get vaccinated with a string of false and misleading claims that fact-checkers have frequently debunked.

Japan Continues to Use Vaccines, Not Ivermectin, to Fight COVID-19

Japan Continues to Use Vaccines, Not Ivermectin, to Fight COVID-19

More than 70% of Japan’s population has received the COVID-19 vaccines, and the government is moving ahead with a booster shot in December. But a conservative radio host in the U.S. falsely claimed, “Japan drops vax rollout, goes to Ivermectin.” Japan hasn’t stopped its vaccine program and hasn’t approved ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment.