Fact check: What are the most common COVID-19 myths debunked by health experts?

1. Summary of the results

The analyses from various sources, including the Mayo Clinic ^[1], the University of Florida ^[2], and Michigan Medicine ^[3], provide a comprehensive overview of the most common COVID-19 myths debunked by health experts. These myths include claims that vaccines cause cancer or heart problems ^[1], misconceptions about the transmission and treatment of the virus ^[2], and false information about vaccine effectiveness and safety ^[3]. The Mayo Clinic article ^[1] directly lists the most common COVID-19 myths, including claims that vaccines cause cancer, heart problems, or contain microchips. Other sources, such as the study of misconceptions among Jordanians ^[4] and the Bangladesh cross-sectional study ^[5], highlight common myths and misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccines and the virus. The scoping review ^[6] identifies the most frequently debunked COVID-19 myths, including false origins, ineffective or harmful "cures," vaccine misinformation, public-health measure myths, and exaggerated severity or transmission misconceptions. The fact-check experiments ^[7] target four core myths that health authorities have repeatedly debunked, and the review article ^[8] lists prevalent myths that health experts have had to refute, including vaccine-related myths, origin and transmission myths, treatment myths, mask myths, and public-health measure myths.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Some key omitted facts and alternative viewpoints include the importance of aerosol transmission and the need for proper mask-wearing and ventilation to prevent the spread of the virus ^[2]. Additionally, the study of misconceptions among Jordanians ^[4] highlights common beliefs such as the vaccine not being tested enough, being a new untested technology, being developed using fetal tissue, causing infertility, and containing microchips. The Bangladesh cross-sectional study ^[5] reports widespread misconceptions such as COVID-19 being a punishment from God, a revenge of nature, a virus war, not being a dangerous virus, not being a disease, and not being a pandemic. These alternative viewpoints emphasize the need for targeted myth-debunking efforts and cultural sensitivity in addressing COVID-19 misconceptions. Furthermore, the scoping review ^[6] notes that scientific evidence is essential in countering misinformation themes, and the fact-check experiments ^[7] highlight the importance of repeated fact-checking to address the ephemeral effects of fact-checks on COVID-19 misperceptions.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original statement may benefit health experts and public health authorities who are working to debunk COVID-19 myths and promote accurate information about the virus and vaccines ^{[1] [2] [3]}. However, the statement may also be influenced by bias towards Western medical perspectives, as most of the sources cited are from Western institutions and may not fully represent the diversity of global perspectives on COVID-19 ^{[4] [5]}. Additionally, the statement may be limited by the availability of fact-checking resources, as the fact-check experiments ^[7] note that fact-checks can have ephemeral effects on COVID-19 misperceptions. Overall, the original statement may benefit from a more nuanced and culturally sensitive approach to addressing COVID-19 misconceptions, taking into account the diversity of global perspectives and the importance of repeated fact-checking ^{[6] [8]}.