Did Oklahoma gunshot victims wind up having to wait to be seen at the hospital because there were too many people who had overdosed on the horse worming medication ivermectin? No, that's not true: Reports in various outlets painted a highly exaggerated picture of what Dr. Jason McElyea had described in an interview. Further complicating the issue, when one hospital,…

Does the use of ivermectin as a dewormer for horses mean it is only a veterinary medicine? No, that's not true: There are ivermectin doses for 1,000-pound animals and different doses and forms to treat rosacea and parasites in humans. But, while the active ingredient is the same, the veterinary formulation is not the same as the human product, and…

Did 27 U.S. Air Force pilots resign their commissions after the announcement of the implementation of a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all U.S. active duty and National Guard service members? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no evidence the claim was valid; and Real Raw News, the site where the claim was originally published, is known for parody and…

Did the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) force COVID-19 vaccines onto Hurricane Ida evacuees who were leaving New Orleans? No, that's not true: FEMA told Lead Stories this is false and a spokesperson for the mayor said it is not happening. The claim originated in an article published by Real Raw News on September 1, 2021, titled, "FEMA FORCIBLY VACCINATING…

Did the Pfizer lab in Madrid suffer a fire or burn to the ground? No, that's not true: Pfizer officials confirmed there was a lightning-caused fire near the pharma giant's lab, but it burned a biocomposting lot near the the Pfizer plant without spreading to the Pfizer facility. The viral video was taken from an angle that made it appear…

Does an Israeli study based on medical records of the Maccabi Healthcare Services HMO prove vaccines are less effective than natural immunity? No, that's not true: While the study does indicate people who survived infection with SARS-CoV-2 resisted the delta variant better than those who had been vaccinated, it also notes that people who have been infected and vaccinated fare…

Are disposable medical swabs that have been sterilized using ethylene oxide gas carcinogenic and considered dangerous? No, that's not true: It is commonly used to sterilize medical equipment and disposable products like swabs and wound dressings that might not be able to withstand sterilization methods that include heat or moisture. However, it is true that the Department of Health and…

Did Germany halt all COVID-19 vaccines because they are unsafe and no longer recommended? No, that's not true: Clickbait headlines, capitalizing on the language barrier, are representing as factual a multiday broadcast event that made clear that its "global pandemic exit exercise" was a type of political theater. The video shows a "planspiel," a scenario-based simulation presenting what the new…

Does the state of Hawaii say it has had 45,000 deaths caused by COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true. Neither the state of Hawaii nor a representative of the state made this claim. The claim was made in part by an attorney who is taking legal action against Hawaii's state vaccine mandate on behalf of union members. The attorney referred…

Did the U.S. Supreme Court rule that the COVID-19 vaccine is unsafe? Did Dr. Anthony Fauci and "Big Pharma" lose a lawsuit to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others over the safety of COVID vaccine? No, neither of those are true: There has been no recent court proceeding, or ruling, from the Supreme Court stating that COVID vaccine is unsafe.…

Did a new, more-deadly virus arise in August 2021 called "COVID-22"? No, that's not true: social media users grabbed the phrase "COVID-22" from a German news site's interview with an immunologist, causing a worldwide health scare. He used the phrase as casual shorthand for his prediction that there will be more variants of SARS-CoV-2 beyond the delta variant that caused…

Does the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) hand over all its testing of new drugs to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and does that put Dr. Anthony Fauci's wife, NIH chief of bioethics Christine Grady, in a position to somehow benefit her husband by determining which drugs and vaccines are approved for use? No, that's not always true: Pharmaceutical…

Does a video of Indian soldiers rendering aid to other soldiers who have collapsed show a strong connection to the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: This video appears to show the first aid care rendered during a mass heat stroke incident involving a reconnaissance troop competition among soldiers of the Indian Army. The soldiers were competing on a hot…

Have no politicians died from COVID-19? No, that's not true: Various politicians have died from the disease, both in the United States and around the world. They are not immune. Among the politicians who have died are Herman Cain, a former presidential candidate; Ron Wright, a congressman from Texas, and Carlos Holmes Trujillo, Colombia's defense minister. The claim appeared in…

Did CNN publish an article describing a 40-year-old COVID-19 victim's sentiments toward unvaccinated people? No, that's not true: The satirical story about a severely obese woman who was vaccinated and is now dying from COVID-19 was not published by CNN. The claim appeared in an Instagram post (archived here) published on August 26, 2021. It featured what appeared to be…

Does a study say fully vaccinated health care workers carry 251 times the viral load of unvaccinated and pose a threat to unvaccinated patients and co-workers? No, that's not true: This is a distortion of what the published paper actually says. The paper studied vaccinated health care workers who were infected with COVID-19 in June 2021 versus health care workers…

Do seven well-known agencies and pharmaceutical companies listed in a social media post not require their employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19? Partially, that claim is true: but the list lacks context. The agencies and organizations listed all have COVID prevention protocols in place, and some are requiring vaccinations for their employees currently or will in the near future. The…

Does an opinion column in The Pulse accurately characterize the fatality risk COVID poses and does it correctly describe what is shown by data in the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System)? No, that's not true: Without noting that COVID-19 is an unusually contagious infection, the article greatly de-emphasizes the risk of COVID to communities, while grossly overstating the proof…

Is the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine not approved by the FDA? No, that's not true: The Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on August 23, 2021. The agency made the announcement publicly, sharing the approval letter to the pharmaceutical company as well as posting the approval in the "Fact Sheet for Health Care Providers Administering Vaccine (Vaccination Providers)"…

Is the FDA approval of the COVID-19 vaccine illegal, and does a "doctor" prove the Pfizer informational insert with its vaccine shows criminal regulation violations? No, that's not true: The claims made on the Stew Peters show by a guest without a medical degree are recycled conspiracy theories and false claims about the COVID-19 vaccine that Lead Stories has previously…