Get the facts on the new coronavirus
Our fact checkers are fighting to protect people from bad information about Covid-19.
Top articles
How you can fact check claims about the new coronavirus
There’s a lot of misinformation about Covid-19, so Full Fact is sharing its top tips on how to check if a claim is true.
Read more…How you can fact check claims about the new coronavirus
There’s a lot of misinformation about Covid-19, so Full Fact is sharing its top tips on how to check if a claim is true.
No evidence Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine affects women’s fertility
The vaccine causes an immune response to a spike protein, but this almost certainly won’t make the body attack the placenta.
RNA Covid-19 vaccines will not change your DNA
Several candidate vaccines use this technology.
The Covid-19 recovery rate is not 99.9%
Posts on social media have overestimated the Covid recovery rate.
Full Fact fights bad information
Bad information ruins lives. It promotes hate, damages people’s health, and hurts democracy. You deserve better.
Vaccines
Vaccine misinformation is dangerous and threatens to prolong the pandemic. Stay informed with our latest fact checks.
The government hasn’t said the vaccine will cause a third wave of deaths
Covid-19 vaccines aren’t 100% efficient, but experts aren’t predicting they will cause mass hospitalisations.
Covid-19 vaccine did not kill every animal it was tested on
A Facebook post is wrong to claim animals involved in vaccine trials died from sepsis, immune disorder or cardiac failure.
‘Why would we suddenly go to them and lie?’: How councils and communities are working together to fight vaccine misinformation
For councils, increasing vaccine uptake is a matter of increasing accessibility and addressing fears by fighting misinformation. We spoke to councils across England to find out how they’re doing it.
Causes
There is more than one “coronavirus” and they’ve existed for years. There’s no evidence anybody manufactured it deliberately, and it has nothing to do with 5G.
Covid-19 is not the same as a common cold
Coronaviruses are a family of viruses which include those which cause the common cold, SARS and Covid-19.
The problem with coronavirus transmission in hospitals
Full Fact investigates what we know about Covid-19 transmission in hospitals, and what we don’t.
Covid-19 is an infectious disease, and a video claiming it isn’t is wrong
The woman in this video is wrong to blame radiation—and wrong about other things as well
Symptoms
The key symptoms are usually a high temperature and a new, continuous cough. Other symptoms like a runny nose don’t rule it out.
Facebook post makes misleading claims about Covid-19 passports and death rate
A post on Facebook makes misleading claims about Covid-19 vaccines, Covid-19 passports, infection, transmission and the death rate.
A Bangladesh study doesn’t show that depression follows Covid-19
The Telegraph misreported a scientific study which found that many former Covid-19 sufferers had depression—but did not say whether the virus was to blame.
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
Prevention
There’s no evidence that water or high temperatures will prevent infection, though some are good for your health in general. Washing your hands with soap is best.
Facebook post makes misleading claims about Covid-19 passports and death rate
A post on Facebook makes misleading claims about Covid-19 vaccines, Covid-19 passports, infection, transmission and the death rate.
What happens when pupils test positive for Covid-19?
There’s been confusion over whether pupils can return to school after a positive lateral flow test but a negative PCR result.
Misleading claims about Serco’s role in Test and Trace resurface
Most of the money spent on Test and Trace goes on testing. Serco plays a big part in tracing, but does not receive a majority of the funding.
Treatment
There’s currently no proven cure for the virus and you should be wary of methods professing to cure it like hot drinks or gargling salt water.
Facebook post makes misleading claims about Covid-19 passports and death rate
A post on Facebook makes misleading claims about Covid-19 vaccines, Covid-19 passports, infection, transmission and the death rate.
Germany has spent far more than £48m on test and trace
The UK has not spent £32 billion on Test and Trace so far, and Germany has spent much more than £48 million.
What happens when pupils test positive for Covid-19?
There’s been confusion over whether pupils can return to school after a positive lateral flow test but a negative PCR result.
Statistics
Use sources like NHS England and the ONS for figures on deaths and testing, but be aware they’re not always up-to-date and may not cover all cases so far.
Claims that a quarter of all Covid-19 deaths weren’t caused by the virus misinterpret the data
Media reports of the new figures do not make it clear that this figure only relates to one week of data.
Viral instagram video falsely claims Covid-19 was planned
A video falsely claims Covid-19 has been planned and its vaccine kills.
Covid-19: Behind the death toll
We see the scale of this pandemic in another way if we look at the death toll alongside how many years of life are being lost—including among people who don’t die.
Viral posts on social media
If you’re not sure, don’t share. Many posts falsely claim to be from the government or NHS, and you can reverse-search photos online to check they’re accurate.
The government hasn’t said the vaccine will cause a third wave of deaths
Covid-19 vaccines aren’t 100% efficient, but experts aren’t predicting they will cause mass hospitalisations.
Claims that a quarter of all Covid-19 deaths weren’t caused by the virus misinterpret the data
Media reports of the new figures do not make it clear that this figure only relates to one week of data.
Covid-19 vaccine did not kill every animal it was tested on
A Facebook post is wrong to claim animals involved in vaccine trials died from sepsis, immune disorder or cardiac failure.
Ask Full Fact
We've asked readers to send in their questions about the new coronavirus, to help sort the good information from the bad. Check out our answers here.
Viral instagram video falsely claims Covid-19 was planned
A video falsely claims Covid-19 has been planned and its vaccine kills.
Many more than 3,000 people have died of Covid-19
The true death toll is currently more than 100,000 in England and Wales.
Millions—not thousands—caught Covid last year
Doctors only report a small fraction of infections through the NOIDs system.
All Covid-19 fact checks
It’s vital that everyone receives clear, factual information about Covid-19. We are working to correct misinformation about the virus.
The government hasn’t said the vaccine will cause a third wave of deaths
Covid-19 vaccines aren’t 100% efficient, but experts aren’t predicting they will cause mass hospitalisations.
Claims that a quarter of all Covid-19 deaths weren’t caused by the virus misinterpret the data
Media reports of the new figures do not make it clear that this figure only relates to one week of data.
Covid-19 vaccine did not kill every animal it was tested on
A Facebook post is wrong to claim animals involved in vaccine trials died from sepsis, immune disorder or cardiac failure.
Thank you
We are grateful to all our donors for supporting us to tackle dangerously false claims during this global crisis.