By Reuters Staff
3 Min Read
Various posts on social media are sharing the incorrect claim that low influenza activity during the coronavirus pandemic is evidence that the flu is being mislabeled as COVID-19.
Reuters Fact Check. REUTERS
One iteration of the claim (here) points to a graph from the World Health Organization (WHO). It reports the “number of specimens positive for influenza by subtype” in the UK for each week of 2020.
The graph shows that around the start of April, a few weeks after the UK first went into lockdown, influenza rates dropped to minimal levels.
Unlike previous years, where flu activity would drop in summer and then rise again winter, in 2020 it has remained consistently low since April.
REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Coronavirus conspiracy theories could keep people from getting vaccinated if left unaddressed.
It s impossible for the vaccines to alter your DNA, make you infertile, or give you COVID-19.
The vaccine won t be forced on people who don t want it, nor does it contain a location-tracking microchip.
Finally, you won t be protected from COVID-19 the moment you get your shot. It ll take time and widespread compliance for life to go back to normal.
Now that the US has authorized and begun distribution of two vaccines, the real challenge lies in making sure people get their shots and in squashing the misunderstandings and conspiracy theories that surround the vaccines.
Coronavirus vaccine: Understanding trial results, roll-out and what happens next – an expert guide medicalxpress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from medicalxpress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Coronavirus vaccine: An expert guide to understanding trial results, roll-out and what happens next
With vaccines being administered, here s a comprehensive look at where we are and what s to come
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Coronavirus vaccines are being administered. Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was the first to finish the final stage of testing – known as phase 3 – and the full results have been published. Having assessed the data, countries are beginning to authorise this vaccine for public use and roll it out.
Others are not too far behind. The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is nearing the end of phase 3, and the research team has released interim figures from the trial. These are basically a sneak peek at how the testing is going, to confirm the vaccine is working as expected. Full phase 3 results are expected soon.