COVID-19 Myth or Fact
Separating COVID-19 facts from fiction.
With new advancements like vaccines and boosters, and with new COVID-19 variants emerging, what we know about COVID-19 is always changing. When you pair that with all the misinformation and disinformation floating around our feeds, it’s hard to know what to believe. Here is a simple resource to help you sort out the fiction and get straight to the facts.
Myth or Fact?
COVID-19 is over, and variants are no worse than a common cold or the flu.
MythFact is – COVID-19 is not over, and new variants continue to emerge that are far more life-threatening than the flu.
Myth or Fact?
People are still getting sick — proof that the COVID-19 vaccines don’t work.
MythFact is – Infections can happen with any vaccine, but that does not mean that the COVID-19 vaccines are ineffective.
Myth or Fact?
Children don’t need the vaccine because their risk is low.
MythFact is – While children and adolescents typically have a lower risk than adults of becoming severely ill or hospitalized from COVID-19, children can still get seriously ill, be hospitalized, and even die from COVID.
Myth or Fact?
I don’t need a booster because I got the vaccine.
MythFact is – because the passage of time reduces the effectiveness of the initial vaccine series, getting the COVID-19 booster vaccine reduces your risk of being infected with the virus, becoming severely ill, or needing hospitalization.
How to tell if it is a myth or fact:
Misinformation vs. Disinformation
We hear these words a lot, but what is the difference?
Misinformation is information that is false, inaccurate, or misleading according to the best available evidence at the time.
Disinformation is a type of misinformation that deliberately tries to trick people into believing something for financial gain or political advantage.
Types of Misinformation
- Memes with false information
- Websites designed to look professional but are not official
- Quotations that were changed
- Images of out-dated or disproven facts
- Misleading graphs
- Cherry-picked statistics
- Altered Videos
Be sure before you share.
With so much misinformation, it’s important to take the time to make sure what you’re sharing is true.
Four Steps You Can Take to Combat the Spread of Misinformation
- Before sharing, check if the original source is trustworthy and that it’s updated on a regular basis. If you’re not sure, it’s probably not safe to share.
- Shocking headline or picture catch your eye? That may be your first clue that something’s off. Misinformation often uses sensational or shocking text and images to grab your attention — accurate information is usually less sensational.
- Misinformation often “cherry picks” or elevates a small piece of a story to mislead or alarm you. Try to get the full story and context behind a piece of content by checking sources you trust to see if they’re also covering the information that you’re unsure about.
- Have a trustworthy source? Share it. Misinformation spreads faster in the community when there is a shortage of good, fact-based information.
What are trusted sources of information?
The best place to start is with the CDC. Why? Because the CDC’s web content on vaccines and immunization is researched, written, and approved by subject-matter experts, including physicians, researchers, epidemiologists, and analysts. Content is based on peer-reviewed science. Science and public health data are frequently updated, and most pages are reviewed yearly.
Other trusted sources for information on COVID-19 include:
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- Johns Hopkins University
- The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)
- The New England Journal of Medicine
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Stats on COVID-19
For more data on Delaware COVID-19 cases including demographic breakdowns, go to My Healthy Community
Related Topics: COVID-19, Myth or Fact
