Fact check: 8 common COVID misconceptions

Credit: Alamy
Credit: Alamy

To help you out, we rounded up eight facts about the coronavirus to keep in mind if you see claims to the contrary.

Fact: Masks help prevent the spread of the coronavirus

Several studies support the theory that face coverings reduce the risk of infection. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testified before the Senate in September that masks are “the most important, powerful public health tool we have” for combating the pandemic.

Fact: The coronavirus is more deadly than influenza

Unfortunately, the coronavirus is much more lethal than seasonal flu. About 2 percent of diagnosed coronavirus cases are lethal, compared with 0.1 percent of diagnosed flu cases.

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Fact: The coronavirus vaccine candidates do not affect people’s DNA

Two vaccines [approved by the FDA]— one from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech, and another from biotechnology company Moderna — are examples of a new technology that uses a piece of genetic material called messenger RNA. That mRNA teaches the body’s cells to build the protein on the surface of the coronavirus, therefore making the immune system recognize and block the true virus.

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