Health
Children aren’t immune from the new coronavirus
Claims that children can’t get Covid-19 are incorrect. Read
Fact check
Covid-19 fact checks
This page brings together Full Fact’s fact checks on Covid-19, covering common claims, vaccine safety and efficacy, symptoms, treatments, government policies, and misinformation. We review evidence, correct errors, and monitor evolving science to help you make informed decisions.
Viral post about someone’s uncle’s coronavirus advice is not all it’s cracked up to be
The viral post makes a number of claims about the symptoms of and ways to prevent Covid-19, but not all of them are right. Read
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Health
We fact checked claims about avoiding social contact and how you wash clothes in the face of the new coronavirus
An ‘essential guide’ to avoiding the new coronavirus by the Daily Mail includes several pieces of advice not recommended by the government. Read
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Health
The NHS hasn’t advised people to stop shaking hands to avoid the Wuhan coronavirus
No advice on handshaking has been issued by NHS England or Public Health England in response to Wuhan coronavirus. Read
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These quotes “predicting” coronavirus are from two different books
Read separately, the quotes do not sound much like the new Wuhan coronavirus at all. Read
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You should generally wear a protective face mask with the coloured side pointing outwards
Wearing a protective mask the wrong way around can reduce its effectiveness. Read
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Health
Viral image about patents for viruses is misleading
Claims about patents existing for AIDS, Zika, SARS, swine flu and Ebola are misleading. Read
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Here’s what the books that “predicted” the Covid-19 coronavirus actually say
One is a sci-fi novel about a disease created in a lab outside of Wuhan, and another is a book of predictions that said a “pneumonia-like” illness would spread in 2020. Read
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Health
The World Health Organisation did not know about the Covid-19 virus before the current outbreak
The World Health Organisation did not know about the Covid-19 pathogen before the current outbreak. Read
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Health
There's no evidence that the 2019 coronavirus originated in a Chinese government laboratory
A new article written by Chinese scientists does not prove that the 2019 coronavirus outbreak came from bats in a government laboratory. Read
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Evidence you can rely on
Fact checking claims made by politicians, public figures and viral online content can give you the full picture backed by the evidence.
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