Covid Deaths

Does the regular use of ivermectin to prevent COVID-19 result in up to a 92 percent reduction in the disease's mortality rate and also reduce infection and hospitalization? No, that's not true: The claims about ivermectin were part of what one expert at the University of Nebraska Medical Center called "not a well-constructed study." The claims appeared in a study…

Has the number of excess deaths in Europe gone up a "shocking 691%" in children since the European Medicines Agency (EMA) first approved the COVID vaccine for them? Yes, it's true that the number of excess deaths has gone up some sevenfold, but there's no evidence to support the implied connection between the increase and the start of COVID vaccinations…

Are airlines banning travelers who are vaccinated against the coronavirus from flying because the shot elevates their risk for blood clotting? No, that's not true: This rumor has recently resurfaced on social media after being thoroughly debunked when it first emerged in 2021. No publicly available evidence supports the claim airlines were banning the vaccinated as of this writing. This…

Did governments around the world kill 12 million people by giving them COVID-19 shots? No, that's not true: There's no evidence that anywhere near that number of people have died due to vaccination for the disease as of mid-August 2022. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have only identified "nine…

Is it fact that viruses have never been isolated and there is no measles virus? No, that's not true: Scientists first isolated a virus in the 1890s. And a Persian doctor published written accounts about measles disease in the late 800s. In 1912, measles became a "nationally notifiable disease" in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control…

Did COVID vaccine trials skip animal testing and go straight to people because all the animals were dying? No, that's not true: In an email to Lead Stories, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said, "The claim is completely false. All authorized and approved COVID-19 vaccines underwent animal studies." The claim appeared in an Instagram post and video on…

Did three doctors in Canada die after receiving a fourth COVID-19 shot? No, that's not true: There's no evidence any of the men were boosted a second time, but, if they were, there's also no evidence that the vaccinations caused their deaths. At least two of the doctors died from cancer, and the third had been "seriously ill" leading up…

Did British ethologist and conservationist Jane Goodall suggest that the world population be "reduced" less than two months before the first COVID-19 lockdown in New York City? No, that's not true: She never said or implied it while speaking at one of the 2020 World Economic Forum panels in mid-January of 2020. The claim originated in an Instagram post on…

Is getting a virus and acquiring natural immunity the "best thing you can do for your body," rather than getting a vaccine? No, that's not true: The only way vaccines get Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval is if they provide protection against illness and death associated with natural infection while presenting a proportionally very low risk of adverse events.…

Is there a global recall of all COVID-19 vaccines? No, that's not true: There is no evidence of global public health agencies pulling their support for and endorsement of vaccinations to protect against SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus disease) and its variants. The World Health Organization told Lead Stories, "COVID-19 vaccines are being continuously assessed for their benefits versus risks. The consistent observation…