Get the facts: Health

28 October 2020

The WHO has not decided attending school implies consent for vaccines

In the UK you can’t be forced to have a vaccine.

The WHO has not decided attending school implies consent for vaccines

28 October 2020

The number of doctors working for the NHS in England has increased in the past year

Even when excluding final year students fast tracked into hospital roles due to the pandemic, the number of doctors has risen.

The number of doctors working for the NHS in England has increased in the past year

27 October 2020

This figure for flu deaths is wrong

A viral Facebook post claims that the flu killed 64,000 people in 2018. This is incorrect. 64,000 people died in January 2018 in England and Wales of all causes.

27 October 2020

The asteroid which might enter Earth’s atmosphere on 2 November will not “hit” Earth

NASA says it is so small it would burn up in the atmosphere.

The asteroid which might enter Earth’s atmosphere on 2 November will not “hit” Earth

27 October 2020

A video claiming to be from 1956 did not predict Covid-19

The video is modern and was made after the pandemic began.

A video claiming to be from 1956 did not predict Covid-19

26 October 2020

Matt Hancock got the evidence about long Covid wrong

Younger people and those with milder illness seem less likely to be affected, according to data from the Covid Symptom Study app

Matt Hancock got the evidence about long Covid wrong

26 October 2020

Facebook post about falling flu and pneumonia deaths is wrong

The widely shared Facebook post contains a number of inaccuracies about the number of people who have died from flu, pneumonia and Covid-19.

Facebook post about falling flu and pneumonia deaths is wrong

26 October 2020

Teflon in masks does not pose a health risk, unless you get it extremely hot

Symptoms are similar to those described in the post, but this is rare and unlikely to be caused by normal mask-wearing

Teflon in masks does not pose a health risk, unless you get it extremely hot

23 October 2020

The inventor of PCR never said it wasn’t designed to detect infectious diseases

Rumours about the inventor of the process of PCR, which is used to test whether someone currently has Covid-19, have been spreading on social media.

The inventor of PCR never said it wasn’t designed to detect infectious diseases

22 October 2020

Dominic Raab did not say Covid-19 tests have a 93% false positive rate

Mr Raab was referring to a PHE report on testing at airports and seems to have misspoken when he mentioned false positives.

Dominic Raab did not say Covid-19 tests have a 93% false positive rate

22 October 2020

This post telling healthy people to stop getting tested is full of inaccuracies

The post cites inaccurate claims about how testing and virus levels are measured.

This post telling healthy people to stop getting tested is full of inaccuracies

22 October 2020

This video makes a number of inaccurate claims about the Covid-19 pandemic

We have seen similar claims before about Pirbright, Serco, and the Test and Trace system.

This video makes a number of inaccurate claims about the Covid-19 pandemic

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