The Infodemic: What's Known About Russia's Alleged COVID-19
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2020 3:24 pm
President Vladimir Putin meets with his cabinet at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence, Aug. 11, 2020. Putin says that a coronavirus vaccine developed in the country has been registered for use and one of his daughters has already been inoculated.
Fake news about the coronavirus can do real harm. Polygraph.info is spotlighting fact-checks from other reliable sources here.
Daily Debunk
"What we know -- and don't know -- about Russia's 'Sputnik V' vaccine," CNN, August 12.
Social Media Disinfo
Screenshot
Circulating on social media: Claim that Serbia on Aug. 3 announced mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for children returning to school and that millions of Serbians took to the street that night in protest.
Verdict: False
Read the full story at: Reuters
Factual Reads on Coronavirus
Winter is coming: Why America’s window of opportunity to beat back Covid-19 is closing
Unless Americans use the dwindling weeks between now and the onset of “indoor weather” to tamp down transmission in the country, this winter could be Dickensianly bleak, public health experts warn.
-- Stat, August 10
America’s Obesity Epidemic Threatens Effectiveness of Any COVID Vaccine
Scientists know that vaccines engineered to protect the public from influenza, hepatitis B, tetanus and rabies can be less effective in obese adults than in the general population, leaving them more vulnerable to infection and illness. There is little reason to believe, obesity researchers say, that COVID-19 vaccines will be any different.
-- Kaiser Health News, August 6