copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: There isn’t yet any empirical evidence for their claim that greenhouse gases even cause temperatures to increase. (Rush Limbaugh, 2018-04-02)
Evidence (2018-04-08): Factually Inaccurate: It is an unequivocal fact that Earth’s climate has warmed over the past century. Also, the conclusion that the human-caused increase of greenhouse gases is causing warming is supported by a wide range of empirical data. Human-caused global warming is not a theoretical, future prediction—it has already occurred. Warming of the atmosphere and oceans is extensively documented, and the role of increased greenhouse gases in this warming has been determined from multiple lines of evidence. Rush Limbaugh falsely claims there is no evidence of human-caused global warming by Scott Johnson, Climate Feedback, Apr 4, 2018
Claim: There isn’t yet any empirical evidence for their claim that greenhouse gases even cause temperatures to increase. (Rush Limbaugh, 2018-04-02)
Evidence (2007-07-23): Now, since people can’t directly control water vapor, the only way we have to influence it is via temperature. If the greenhouse effect boosts global temperature somewhat, we should realistically expect that the amount of water vapor in the air should be increasing. Similarly, if global temperatures drop for some reason (for example, a large volcanic eruption dumping massive amounts of aerosols into the air), we should expect to see water vapor concentrations decrease. In the lower atmosphere, the available data points to increasing water vapor content, but because of large variations in local humidity from day to night, from day to day, and from season to season, no-one currently knows exactly how much more water vapor is going into the air (IPCC Working Group 1 Assessment Report 4, Chapter 3, "Observations: Surface and Atmospheric Climate Change", page 273). And unfortunately, the upper troposphere (the region of the atmosphere believed to be most important for water vapor’s effects on global heating) has no conclusive direct data on water vapor concentrations. Instead, the increase in water vapor in this part of the atmosphere has been indirectly checked by the increase in this region’s temperature. Since water vapor is such a powerful greenhouse gas, any increase in temperature in this region of the atmosphere should be largely a result of the effects of water vapor (IPCC Working Group 1 Assessment Report 4, Chapter 3, "Observations: Surface and Atmospheric Climate Change", Figure 3.21, page 275).
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2020-01-10): The measure that best describes the lethality of an infectious disease is the infection fatality ratio (IFR). The IFR indicates the proportion of people who die from a disease among all the people infected, including both confirmed cases as well as undetected infections. According to their respective IFR estimates, COVID-19 is at least ten times more deadly than an average flu season, particularly for middle-aged and elderly people. Furthermore, the lack of effective treatments or vaccines for COVID-19, along with potential long-term damage to survivors, make COVID-19 a serious health threat.
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2020-02-07): How scientists know COVID-19 is way deadlier than the flu [...] What’s more, scientists today have a better sense of how to measure COVID-19's lethality, and the numbers are alarming. Using a more sophisticated calculation called the infection-fatality rate, paired with the past few months’ worth of data, the latest best estimates show that COVID-19 is around 50 to 100 times more lethal than the seasonal flu, on average. [...] Using the handful of studies that have calculated infection-fatality rates for seasonal flu, Meyerowitz-Katz determined that somewhere between 1 and 10 people die for every 100,000 that are infected. For COVID-19, that number ranges between 500 and 1,000 deaths per 100,000 infections. By his calculations, the coronavirus is likely to be 50 to 100 times more deadly than the seasonal flu, which supports the Columbia University findings.
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2023-12-12): However, the overall risk and occurrence of death, hospital admissions, and loss of health in many organ systems are substantially higher among COVID-19 patients than among those who have had seasonal influenza, Al-Aly said. "The one notable exception is that the flu poses higher risks to the pulmonary system than COVID-19," he said. "This tells us the flu is truly more of a respiratory virus, like we’ve all thought for the past 100 years. By comparison, COVID-19 is more aggressive and indiscriminate in that it can attack the pulmonary system, but it can also strike any organ system and is more likely to cause fatal or severe conditions involving the heart, brain, kidneys and other organs." [...] During the overall 18-month study period, patients who had COVID-19 faced a 50% higher risk of death than those with seasonal influenza. This corresponded to about eight more deaths per 100 persons in the COVID-19 group than among those with the flu. Although COVID-19 showed a greater risk of health loss than seasonal influenza, infection with either virus carried significant risk of disability and disease. The researchers found COVID-19 exhibited increased risk of 68% of health conditions examined across all organ systems (64 of the 94 adverse health outcomes studied), while the flu was associated with elevated risk of 6% of health conditions (six of the 94) – mostly in the respiratory system.
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2023-07-22): COVID-19 vs. flu: Similarities and differences [...] COVID-19 appears to be contagious for a longer time and to spread more quickly than the flu. With COVID-19, you may be more likely to experience loss of taste or smell. Severe illness is more frequent with COVID-19 than with the flu. Compared with historical flu cases, COVID-19 may cause more hospital stays and death for people age 18 and older, even those who have no other health challenges.
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2024-10-08): How fatal is covid-19 compared with seasonal influenza? The devil is in the detail. Accurate assessment of the chance of death following exposure to covid-19 is important, since this statistic has been used by governments to direct lockdowns in an effort to mitigate these deaths. In correspondence to the BMJ, professors Baker and Wilson, both proponents of New Zealand’s lockdown, have criticised our assertion that the infection fatality proportion (IFP) of covid-19 is similar to seasonal influenza.[1] They claim that the IFP for influenza is 0.039%, about six times lower than the IFP for covid-19 we cited, a corrected median value of 0.23%.[2] [...] So, what is a reasonable IFP for covid-19? The overall corrected median IFP from 61 studies in a meta-analysis is 0.23%.[2] This agrees with a population serosurvey in Indiana.[20] These studies consider only seropositivity as an indicator of cumulative exposure to the virus. They have also assumed cause of death figures are accurate. So, once these factors have been considered, we believe that our comparison with seasonal influenza is not misleading. Since models that have incorporated higher IFPs have led to economically crippling lockdowns,[21] we believe scrutiny of these comparisons are vital and a reappraisal of the covid-19 IFP is overdue.
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2021-12-30): Correctiv, which is based in Germany and is a member of the International Fact-Checking Network, found in October 2020 that the WHO did not confirm that COVID-19 is less bad than the flu. The WHO told Correctiv that flu deaths vary every year, but that it estimated the infectious mortality rate for seasonal flu to be below 0.1%, which means the severity of the flu is "much lower" than of COVID-19. [...] PolitiFact, "Donald Trump’s false claim that COVID-19 is less deadly than the flu," Oct. 6, 2020. Accessed Jan. 13, 2022. [...] Health Feedback, fact-check, "COVID-19 is more deadly and more contagious than seasonal flu and may also cause long-lasting damage to survivors," Oct. 20, 2020. Accessed Jan. 18, 2022.
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2024-10-08): Many of the viruses that cause upper respiratory infections such as influenza A or B and the virus that causes COVID-19 all employ similar tactics. They target the same areas in your body – primarily the upper and lower airways – and this shared battleground triggers a similar response from your immune system. Overlapping symptoms – fever, cough, fatigue, aches and pains – make it difficult to determine what may be the underlying cause. Now, at-home rapid tests can simultaneously determine whether someone has COVID-19 or the flu. Thanks in part to the National Institutes of Health’s Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics, or RADx, program, the Food and Drug Administration has provided emergency use authorization for seven at-home rapid tests that can distinguish between COVID-19, influenza A and influenza B.
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2022-11-10): Another important variable that affects IFR is the extent to which people are vaccinated. As the vaccine rollout has progressed, covid-19 has become less fatal. Likewise, the rise of new covid variants6 has helped reduce covid’s IFR. One non-academic analysis indicated that covid-19’s IFR has now become equal to or less than flu’s (around 0.04%), whereas in mid-2020 covid-19 was 20 times more likely to kill people than the flu.7 [...] Barclay, who sits on various UK government advisory bodies, is less certain that public perception—and the perception of those in charge of mitigating risks—will change. "I think we live with deaths from seasonal flu," she says. "And I think we will live with deaths from covid as well. I don’t think there’s any alternative to that.
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2022-09-15): It's a strange moment in the pandemic. Mask mandates and other restrictions have all but disappeared. For most vaccinated people, the risk of severe illness has gone way down. But hundreds of people are dying of COVID-19 every day. For their loved ones, grieving a terrible loss as the country is moving back to normal can be jarring. [...] NPR's Rob Stein reports on the debate about whether COVID is more or less dangerous than the seasonal flu.
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2024-05-16): Despite its 'nothingburger' reputation, COVID-19 remains deadlier than the flu [...] Immunity from vaccines and past coronavirus infections has helped tame COVID-19 to the point that when researchers compared the mortality rates of hospitalized COVID-19 and seasonal influenza patients during the height of the 2022–23 flu season, they found that the pandemic disease was only 61% more likely to result in death. [...] In other words, the risk of death from COVID-19 was still 35% greater than it was for the flu. The findings were published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2024-05-15): Despite its ‘nothingburger’ reputation, COVID-19 remains deadlier than the flu [...] Immunity from vaccines and past coronavirus infections has helped tame COVID-19 to the point that when researchers compared the mortality rates of hospitalized COVID-19 and seasonal influenza patients during the height of the 2022-23 flu season, they found that the pandemic disease was only 61% more likely to result in death. [...] In other words, the risk of death from COVID-19 was still 35% greater than it was for the flu. The findings were published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Assn.
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2024-09-27): From what we know, COVID-19 spreads more easily than flu. Efforts to maximize the proportion of people in the United States who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines remain critical to reducing the risk of severe COVID-19 illness and death. More information is available about staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and how well they work. Compared with flu, COVID-19 can cause more severe illness in some people. Compared to people infected with influenza virus, people infected with SARS-CoV-2 may take longer to show symptoms and may be contagious for longer periods of time. [...] While the virus that causes COVID-19 and influenza viruses are thought to spread in similar ways, the virus that causes COVID-19 is generally more contagious than influenza viruses. Also, COVID-19 has been observed to have more superspreading events than flu. This means the virus that causes COVID-19 can quickly and easily spread to a lot of people and result in continual spreading among people as time progresses.
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2024-10-04): How covid, flu, and other seasonal vaccine programmes are changing [...] As summer fades this September, staff at a general practice in Hampshire, England, will activate a computer program—as they do every year. It will scour the medical records of patients and send those who are eligible for a seasonal flu or covid-19 vaccine a text message, inviting them to make an appointment. [...] But the concept of winter or "seasonal" vaccine programmes is changing. The arrival of covid-19 vaccination in 2021 brought the possibility that these medicines could become part of a recurring drive to immunise people on a large scale every autumn, as has been the case with flu vaccines in many countries for decades (the first UK seasonal flu jab for over 65s was introduced in the year 2000). This year, the UK and US will also offer vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). And with H5N1 influenza causing concern,2 vaccines against it might become part of seasonal immunisation programmes one day. A spring covid-19 booster was also offered to especially vulnerable people.
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2022-07-29): COVID-19 vs. the Flu [...] - Both flu and COVID-19 can be asymptomatic, mild, severe or even fatal. [...] With flu season here amid the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, what are the differences between COVID-19 and the flu? How can you protect yourself and your family from both illnesses? Get these and other questions answered by Johns Hopkins Medicine infectious diseases experts from our Nov 12 Facebook Live event: "Staying Safe from the Flu and COVID-19 This Winter."
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2022-09-16): Scientists debate how lethal COVID is. Some say it's now less risky than flu [...] "I believe that we have reached the point where, for an individual, COVID poses less of a risk of hospitalization and death than does influenza," Doron says. [...] "However you slice it, there was never an instance where COVID-19 was milder than the flu," says Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly of Washington University in St. Louis, who has done research comparing COVID to the flu.
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2022-05-23): While COVID-19 is mentioned on fewer death certificates than flu and pneumonia, it is far more likely to be listed as the underlying cause of death [...] Deaths due to COVID-19 are less concentrated in the oldest age groups compared with deaths due to flu and pneumonia [...] The average age of death is lower for COVID-19 than flu and pneumonia
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2022-11-01): Getty ImagesAlmost a year ago, COVID-19 began its global rampage, going on to infect about 69.5 million people and kill about 1.6 million as of early this month. From the beginning, most scientists have said that COVID-19 is deadlier than the seasonal flu, while fringe theories have circulated widely, suggesting it is less deadly or flu’s equal. Evidence is accumulating, however, to show just how much deadlier COVID-19 is compared with the flu and the extent of complications related to the two illnesses. [...] "Having a uniform comparison of data helps with disease prediction models, preparation and prevention efforts," Al-Aly added. "The findings may inform the discussion in the U.S. and abroad about the comparative risks of COVID-19 and seasonal influenza, and may help the ongoing effort to manage the COVID-19 pandemic."
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2020-10-06): The morning after returning to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where he was being treated for Covid-19, Trump claimed that the coronavirus is far less lethal than the seasonal flu. [...] Facts First: This is false. While the grammar of the tweet is slightly confusing, it’s not true that Covid-19 is "far less lethal" than the flu in the United States. It’s also not true that anywhere close to 100,000 people die of the flu every year in the US. [...] The coronavirus is also killing Americans at a higher rate than the flu. As of Tuesday morning, Johns Hopkins University data put the US coronavirus case fatality rate at 2.8%. The mortality rate for seasonal flu is "about 0.1%, 0.2% at the most," according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, other experts and CDC data since 2010.
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2024-08-10): - Safer for people with weak immune systems. [...] - The seasonal flu vaccine is reformulated each year to target the four strains expected to be most common and most dangerous. [...] Everyone should get all recommended vaccines at the recommended times. It is especially important for children and adolescents to get catch-up doses of any missed vaccines or vaccine doses as soon as they can. Adults should get all recommended vaccines for their age or other risk factors such as health condition or occupation. All adults should get tetanus boosters, seasonal flu and COVID-19 vaccines, and any vaccines missed in childhood.
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2020-03-30): How many people die after being infected with the novel coronavirus? Fewer than previously calculated, according to a study released Monday, but still more than die from the flu. [...] That coronavirus death rate, which is lower than earlier estimates, takes into account potentially milder cases that often go undiagnosed – but it’s still far higher than the 0.1% of people who are killed by the flu. [...] Ruan, who was not involved with the research, also noted that the coronavirus fatality rate is low for younger people. But he stressed that "it is very clear that any suggestion of COVID-19 being just like influenza is false," with coronavirus remaining far deadlier than the seasonal flu.
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2023-10-04): Patients hospitalized with RSV were more likely to receive IMV or die compared with patients hospitalized with influenza (adjusted odds ratio = 2.08; 95% CI = 1.33–3.26). Among hospitalized older adults, RSV was less common, but was associated with more severe disease than COVID-19 or influenza. High disease severity in older adults hospitalized with RSV is important to consider in shared clinical decision-making regarding RSV vaccination. [...] The findings from this study demonstrate that RSV is an important cause of respiratory virus–associated morbidity and mortality in older adults. In this prospective, multicenter analysis in which all enrolled older adults hospitalized in 20 U.S. states during 2022–2023 received testing for RSV, SARS-CoV-2, and influenza, RSV-associated hospitalizations were less frequent than were COVID-19–associated and influenza-associated hospitalizations; however, clinical outcomes in patients hospitalized with RSV were worse than those among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 or influenza. Because RSV disease is less common than COVID-19 or influenza disease among hospitalized patients, clinicians might be less aware of RSV as a serious respiratory pathogen in older adults. [...] These findings suggest that although RSV hospitalizations occur less frequently than COVID-19 or influenza hospitalizations, RSV disease among hospitalized adults aged ≥60 years in the United States during February 2022–May 2023 was more severe than that associated with COVID-19 and influenza. New FDA-approved RSV vaccines for adults aged ≥60 years are expected to prevent lower respiratory tract disease (1). Health care providers and older adults should consider RSV disease severity when making a shared clinical decision about RSV vaccination (1).
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2020-09-10): President Trump admitted to Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward in early February that he knew the coronavirus was "more deadly than even your strenuous flu," but the president continued to compare Covid-19 to the flu for weeks following his conversation with Woodward, claiming he "wanted to always play it down." [...] That same day, on the morning of February 7th, the president mentioned, without supporting evidence, that Covid-19 could dissipate with the arrival of warmer weather, much like the seasonal flu. Trump tweeted that the "virus hopefully becomes weaker with warmer weather, and then gone." [...] FACT CHECK: Trump Compares Coronavirus To The Flu, But It Could Be 10 Times Deadlier (NPR)
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2020-03-11): Fauci said COVID-19 is at least 10 times "more lethal" than the seasonal flu, even if the mortality rate drops far below the World Health Organization's current estimate of 3.4%. [...] Since COVID-19 emerged in China two and a half months ago, "it clearly is not as lethal ... but it certainly spreads better," he said, adding seasonal flu has a mortality rate of 0.1%. The WHO's estimated mortality rate for COVID-19 started off at 2%, Fauci said. If you count all the estimated cases of people who may have it but haven't been diagnosed yet, the mortality rate is probably closer to 1%, he said, "which means it's 10 times more lethal than the seasonal flu."
Claim: “COVID-19 [is] less deadly than [seasonal] flu” (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2020-01-10)
Evidence (2022-12-26): Is COVID-19 worse than the flu? [...] The coronavirus has caused higher rates of severe illness and death than the flu. But the symptoms themselves can vary widely from person to person. Is COVID-19 seasonal like the flu?