jpd459/healthver_resplit_larger huggingface dataset:
Claim: Blood Pressure Meds Can Affect COVID-19 Care
Question: are patients taking Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE) inhibitors at increased risk for COVID-19?
Evidence: Our results strongly support the recommendation that ACEI and ARB should be continued in the population and in COVID-19 positive patients, reinforcing the position of several scientific societies.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Inhaling, smoking, or vaping cannabis products in the face of COVID-19 is not recommended
Question: Can smoking cannabis (weed) help in preventing COVID-19?
Evidence: Cannabis thus joins tobacco as a SARS2-CoV-2 risk factor.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: masks can help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and that the more people wearing masks, the better
Question: what are the best masks for preventing infection by Covid-19?
Evidence:  However, wearing N95 respirators can prevent 73 more (95% CI 46-91) clinical respiratory infections per 1000 HCWs compared to surgical masks (2 RCTs; 2594 patients; low quality of evidence).
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Experts believe nicotine, the chemical that makes tobacco addictive, competes with the virus to binds with cells in the body, therefore blocking it from entering. 
Question: Can smoking help in preventing COVID-19?
Evidence: Cannabis smoking is linked with poor respiratory health, immunosuppression and multiple contaminants. Potential synergism between the two epidemics would represent a major public health convergence. Cigarettes were implicated with disease severity in Wuhan, China.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: COVID-19 is not the only cause of the death in Critically Ill Coronavirus Patients. COVID-19 is well known for breathing problems, but other health complications also contribute towards the death from COVID-19. 
Question: how do people die from the coronavirus?
Evidence: Compared to the recovered group, more patients in the death group exhibited characteristics of advanced age, pre-existing comorbidities, dyspnea, oxygen saturation decrease, increased WBC count, decreased lymphocytes, and elevated CRP levels.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Face masks offer little protection against coronavirus.
Question: Can face masks protect me from the coronavirus disease?
Evidence: We find that the critical mask adherence is 5 per 100 when 80% wear face masks.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Vitamin D deficiency linked to increased risk for COVID-19
Question: Does Vitamin D impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: testing positive for COVID-19 was associated with increasing age(RR(age<50)=1.05,p<0.021;RR(age[]50)=1.02,p<0.064)), non-white race(RR=2.54,p<0.01) and being likely vitamin D deficient (deficient/treatment-not-increased:RR=1.77,p<0.02) as compared to likely vitamin D sufficient(not-deficient/treatment-not-decreased), with predicted COVID-19 rates in the vitamin D deficient group of 21.6%(95%CI[14.0%-29.2%] ) versus 12.2%(95%CI[8.9%-15.4%]) in the vitamin D sufficient group.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: risk factors, raised concerns that angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) could increase both the susceptibility and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Question: are patients taking Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE) inhibitors at increased risk for COVID-19?
Evidence: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers are not associated with severe COVID-19 infection in a multi-site UK acute hospital trust
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: nicotine could limit COVID-19 infection
Question: Can smoking help in preventing COVID-19?
Evidence: Our findings support a causal effect of elevated BMI and smoking on risk of sepsis and severe covid-19.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: UV light kill the new coronavirus
Question: Does UV light help in preventing covid-19?
Evidence:  Based on the mechanisms described earlier, our hypothesis is that light could reduce the lethality of COVID-19.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: If you decide to engage in public activities, continue to protect yourself by practicing everyday preventive actions.; Keep these items on hand when venturing out: a mask, tissues, and a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol, if possible.
Question: How much impact do masks have on preventing the spread of the COVID-19?
Evidence: COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV2 is a rapidly spreading global pandemic. Although precise transmission routes and dynamics are unknown, SARS-CoV2 is thought primarily to spread via contagious respiratory droplets.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Hydroxychloroquine not effective as a treatment for covid-19
Question: does hydroxychloroquine treat COVID-19?
Evidence: We found that fatalities are 18.8% (9/48) in HCQ group, which is significantly lower than 47.4% (238/502) in the NHCQ group (P<0.001). The time of hospital stay before patient death is 15 (10-21) days and 8 (4-14) days for the HCQ and NHCQ groups, respectively (P<0.05). The levels of inflammatory cytokine IL-6 were significantly reduced from 22.2 (8.3-118.9) pg mL-1 at the beginning of the treatment to 5.2 (3.0-23.4) pg mL-1 (P<0.05) at the end of the treatment in the HCQ group but there is no change in the NHCQ group.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Cold weather and snow CANNOT kill the new coronavirus.
Question: how does the coronavirus respond to changes in the weather
Evidence: Results indicated that temperatures had a negative linear relationship with the number of confirmed cases.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: smokers are at greater risk of complications from COVID-19 than non-smokers. 
Question: Can smoking help in preventing COVID-19?
Evidence: This suggests that nicotine may have some preventive or modulatory effect on the inflammatory response in the lungs.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Face masks might help protect against the flu in addition to novel coronavirus.
Question: Can wearing masks help in preventing the spread of the coronavirus disease?
Evidence: Evidence that face masks provide effective protection against respiratory infections in the community is scarce. However, face masks are widely used by health workers as part of droplet precautions when caring for patients with respiratory infections. It would therefore be reasonable to suggest that consistent widespread use of face masks in the community could prevent further spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
Verdict: Supports
Claim: To practice social or physical distancing, stay at least 6 feet (about 2 arms' length) from other people who are not from your household in both indoor and outdoor spaces.
Question: has social distancing had an impact on slowing the spread of COVID-19?
Evidence: We use a simple log-linear model with intercept and trend break to evaluate whether the measures are effective preventing/slowing down the spread of the disease in Turkey.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Coronavirus (COVID-19) live map tracker from Microsoft Bing
Question: how does the coronavirus respond to changes in the weather
Evidence: temperature is the most influential parameter that reduces the growth at the rate of 13-17 cases/day with a 1C rise in temperature.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: As cold weather arrives, the number of covid-19 cases increases
Question: how does the coronavirus respond to changes in the weather
Evidence: The current study focuses on the relationship between environmental parameters and the growth rate of COVID-19. The statistical analysis suggests that the temperature changes retarded the growth rate and found that -6.28C and +14.51C temperature is the favorable range for COVID-19 growth.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Vitamin D's effect on Covid-19 maybe be exaggerated
Question: Does Vitamin D impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: a small reverse correlation between mortality rate and vitamin D status was observed throughout the globe (r= -0.177). In Asia, a medium direct correlation was observed for recovery rate (r= 0.317) and a significant reveres correlation for mortality rate (r= -0.700) with vitamin D status in such patients.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Currently there is no robust research to support supplemental therapy for the prevention or treatment of patients with COVID-19.
Question: Does Vitamin D impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: testing positive for COVID-19 was associated with increasing age(RR(age<50)=1.05,p<0.021;RR(age[]50)=1.02,p<0.064)), non-white race(RR=2.54,p<0.01) and being likely vitamin D deficient (deficient/treatment-not-increased:RR=1.77,p<0.02) as compared to likely vitamin D sufficient(not-deficient/treatment-not-decreased), with predicted COVID-19 rates in the vitamin D deficient group of 21.6%(95%CI[14.0%-29.2%] ) versus 12.2%(95%CI[8.9%-15.4%]) in the vitamin D sufficient group.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: garlic had some inhibitory effects on a coronavirus but not thiscoronavirus (COVID-19) which is new
Question: Does garlic protect against covid-19
Evidence: In late December 2019 in Wuhan, China, several patients with viral pneumonia were identified as 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). So far, there are no specific treatments for patients with coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), and the treatments available today are based on previous experience with similar viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and Influenza virus.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Having other cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease, such as hypertension (high blood pressure) or stroke, may increase your risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
Question: what kinds of complications related to COVID-19 are associated with hypertension?
Evidence:  Hypertension has been proven to be more prevalent in patients with an adverse outcome (admission in intensive care unit, use of mechanical ventilation, or death).
Verdict: Supports
Claim: we have not seen any scientifically reliable data to support an association between the use of ibuprofen and worsened outcomes from COVID-19.
Question: Are Tylenol, Advil and Motrin effective and safe to take for COVID-19 symptoms?
Evidence: studies show that ibuprofen and naproxen not only have positive effects in controlling cold symptoms, but also do not cause serious side effects in rhinovirus infections.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Vitamin C is extremely unlikely to help people fight off the new coronavirus.
Question: Does Vitamin C impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: The majority of documents encouraged the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grain foods. Thirty-one percent of the guidelines highlighted the importance of minerals and vitamins such as zinc and vitamins C, A, and D to maintain a well-functioning immune system.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: People with diabetes are among the groups most at risk for more severe complications to the novel coronavirus and its disease, COVID-19.
Question: what kinds of complications related to COVID-19 are associated with diabetes
Evidence: Older age, diabetes and other comorbidities are reported as significant predictors of morbidity and mortality. Chronic inflammation, increased coagulation activity, immune response impairment, and potential direct pancreatic damage by SARS-CoV-2 might be among the underlying mechanisms of the association between diabetes and COVID-19.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Face Mask Protect You From Coronavirus
Question: Can face masks protect me from the coronavirus disease?
Evidence: In this study, we demonstrated, using avian coronavirus of infectious bronchitis virus to mimic SARSCoV2, that medical masks and N95 masks remained their blocking efficacy after being steamed on boiling water even for 2 hours.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Crowded areas will increase covid-19 transmission risk.
Question: how does the coronavirus respond to changes in the weather
Evidence: We show that the delay between exposure and detection of infection complicates the estimation of weather impact on COVID-19 transmission, potentially explaining significant variability in results to-date
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: When someone who has COVID-19 coughs, sneezes, or talks, they send tiny droplets with the coronavirus into the air. That's where a mask can help.
Question: Can face masks protect me from the coronavirus disease?
Evidence: It would therefore be reasonable to suggest that consistent widespread use of face masks in the community could prevent further spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Drink water often to flush covid-19 into your stomach where acid will kill it.
Question: Does drinking lots of water help flush out COVID-19?
Evidence: Access to safe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services have been recognized as a highly precautionary measure essential to protecting human health during this COVID-19 outbreak.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: no studies have investigated the effect of vitamin D supplements or vitamin D deficiency on the risk of contracting the new coronavirus
Question: Does Vitamin D impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: Several studies demonstrated the role of vitamin D in reducing the risk of acute viral respiratory tract infections and pneumonia. These include direct inhibition with viral replication or with anti-inflammatory or immunomodulatory ways. In the meta-analysis, vitamin D supplementation has been shown as safe and effective against acute respiratory tract infections. Thus, people who are at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency during this global pandemic should consider taking vitamin D supplements to maintain the circulating 25(OH)D in the optimal levels (75-125nmol/L).
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: long-term exposure to PM2.5 air pollution may spread the coronavirus
Question: how does the coronavirus respond to changes in the weather
Evidence: Correcting for that distributed delay and offering conservative estimates, we find a negative relationship between temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius and estimated reproduction number ([R]), with each degree Celsius associated with a 3.1% (95% CI, 1.5% to 4.8%) reduction in [R]. Higher levels of relative humidity strengthen the negative effect of temperature above 25 degrees.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Vitamins C, D can help prevent coronavirus
Question: Does Vitamin C impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: Dietary supplementation has not been linked to COVID-19 prevention. However, supplementation with vitamins C and D, as well as with zinc and selenium, was highlighted as potentially beneficial for individuals with, or at risk of, respiratory viral infections or for those in whom nutrient deficiency is detected.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: The fall will spread the COVID-19 pandemic along with colder weather.
Question: how does the coronavirus respond to changes in the weather
Evidence: These results provide evidence for the relationship between several weather variables and the spread of COVID-19. However, the (conservatively) estimated relationships are not strong enough to seasonally control the epidemic in most locations.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Various studies over time have shown that vitamin C contains antioxidants that can help improve the body's ability to fight diseases, including COVID-19.
Question: Does Vitamin C impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: Dietary supplementation has not been linked to COVID-19 prevention. However, supplementation with vitamins C and D, as well as with zinc and selenium, was highlighted as potentially beneficial for individuals with, or at risk of, respiratory viral infections or for those in whom nutrient deficiency is detected.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: If you are found to be infected with a common coronavirus (229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1), that does not mean you are infected with the 2019 novel coronavirus.
Question: what is the origin of COVID-19
Evidence: This paper investigates the COVID-19 virus origin by using artificial intelligence (AI) and raw genomic sequences of the virus.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: if they develop a fever and COVID-19 symptoms, they should not take NSAIDs (ibuprofen) because it can worsen the covid-19 disease
Question: Can taking medication to lower fever, such as paracetamol (tylenol) and ibuprofen (advil) worsen COVID-19?
Evidence: As fever may have benefit in shortening the duration of viral illness, it is plausible to hypothesize that the antipyretic efficacy of ibuprofen may be hindering the benefits of a fever response when taken during the early stages of COVID-19 illness.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Currently, the CDC does NOT recommend using essential oils such as lavender oil or GRAS ingredients such as vinegar in homemade cleaning products to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Question: Can vinegar help in preventing COVID-19?
Evidence: Considering its potential benefits and high availability, acetic acid disinfection appears to be a promising adjunctive therapy in cases of non-severe COVID-19 and deserves further investigation.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Can we transmit the virus to pets? No, we can't
Question: Can animals spread COVID-19?
Evidence: Cellular angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the receptor of SARS-CoV-2 which is identical or similar in different species of animals such as pigs, ferrets, cats, orangutans, monkeys, and humans. Moreover, a recent study predicted that dog might be secondary host during the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 from bat to human. Therefore, there is a possibility of spreading SARS-CoV-2 through domestic pets.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: The coronavirus, which first sickened people in China in December, is thought to have passed from animals to humans, like many similar pathogens, but nothing has been confirmed yet by any peer-reviewed scientific research, global public health agency or academic expert. 
Question: what is the origin of COVID-19
Evidence: Although to date it is considered that Covid19 originates from bats (96.2% overall genome sequence identity) (1), the type of intermediate animals that caused the transmission to humans remains unknown (2-4).
Verdict: Supports
Claim: taking ibuprofen is not safe for covid-19 patients since ibuprofen could increase the expression of an enzyme that facilitates SARS-CoV-2 infections.
Question: Can taking medication to lower fever, such as paracetamol (tylenol) and ibuprofen (advil) worsen COVID-19?
Evidence:  We aimed to evaluate whether ibuprofen use in individuals with COVID-19 was associated with more severe disease, compared with individuals using paracetamol or no antipyretics.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Do COVID-19 Face Masks Work If Kids Can't Stop Touching them? Yes, masks are still effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19, even if children keep touching them. 
Question: How much impact do masks have on preventing the spread of the COVID-19?
Evidence: We present two models for the COVID-19 pandemic predicting the impact of universal face mask wearing upon the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus--one employing a stochastic dynamic network based compartmental SEIR (susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered) approach, and the other employing individual ABM (agent-based modelling) Monte Carlo simulation--indicating (1) significant impact under (near) universal masking when at least 80% of a population is wearing masks, versus minimal impact when only 50% or less of the population is wearing masks, and (2) significant impact when universal masking is adopted early, by Day 50 of a regional outbreak, versus minimal impact when universal masking is adopted late. 
Verdict: Supports
Claim: The COVID-19 shutdown is making weather prediction more difficult
Question: how does the coronavirus respond to changes in the weather
Evidence: We show that the delay between exposure and detection of infection complicates the estimation of weather impact on COVID-19 transmission, potentially explaining significant variability in results to-date
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19
Question: Can face masks protect me from the coronavirus disease?
Evidence: Together, this study suggested that medical masks are adequate for use on most social occasions, and both medical masks and N95 masks can be reused for a few days with steam decontamination between use.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Scientists now suspect this coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, originated in a bat and somehow hopped to another animal, possibly the pangolin, which then passed it on to humans
Question: what is the origin of COVID-19
Evidence: The COVID19, which appeared to originate in China in December 2019, has spread worldwide pandemically.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Results on the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for Covid-19 have shown no significant differences in health outcomes between the control group and patients who received the experimental drug. 
Question: does hydroxychloroquine treat COVID-19?
Evidence: mortality rate was increased when the treatment was conducted with hydroxychloroquine.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Dexamethasone can not improve COVID-19 survival
Question: Is dexamethasone effective for treating COVID-19?
Evidence: We designed a trial to evaluate the effectiveness of early intravenous dexamethasone administration on the number of days alive and free of mechanical ventilation within 28 days after randomization in adult patients with moderate or severe ARDS due to confirmed or probable COVID-19.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: The results demonstrated cats can be infected with the coronavirus.
Question: Can animals spread COVID-19?
Evidence: Experimental data showed ferrets and cats are highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 as infected by virus inoculation and can transmit the virus directly or indirectly by droplets or airborne route.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Winter Weather Could Increase Spread of COVID-19
Question: how does the coronavirus respond to changes in the weather
Evidence: We show that the delay between exposure and detection of infection complicates the estimation of weather impact on COVID-19 transmission, potentially explaining significant variability in results to-date
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: trying to get too much of vitamin d from the sun puts people at risk for skin cancer.
Question: Does Vitamin D impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: Vitamin D deficiency that is not sufficiently treated is associated with COVID-19 risk.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Marijuana and COVID-19: What a Doctor Wants You to Know
Question: Can smoking cannabis (weed) help in preventing COVID-19?
Evidence: Likewise, there is some evidence that inhaled corticosteroids could also reduce its severity, opening the possibility that nicotine and inhaled steroids could be used as treatments.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: having optimal blood levels of 25(OH)-vitamin D (75-150 nmol/L) reduces covid-19 risks: reduced risk of infection; reduced risk of severe disease; reduced risk of dying
Question: Does Vitamin D impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: Several studies demonstrated the role of vitamin D in reducing the risk of acute viral respiratory tract infections and pneumonia. These include direct inhibition with viral replication or with anti-inflammatory or immunomodulatory ways. In the meta-analysis, vitamin D supplementation has been shown as safe and effective against acute respiratory tract infections. Thus, people who are at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency during this global pandemic should consider taking vitamin D supplements to maintain the circulating 25(OH)D in the optimal levels (75-125nmol/L).
Verdict: Supports
Claim: BCG have reduced the severity of COVID-19
Question: can bcg vaccine cure covid-19
Evidence: the resulting clinical condition coronavirus disease (COVID19) in light of recent epidemiologic work suggesting decreased infection severity in BCG immunized populations while highlighting the potential role of the urologist in clinical trials and ongoing research efforts.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: When going out in public, it is important to stay at least 6 feet away from other people and wear a mask to slow the spread of COVID-19. 
Question: has social distancing had an impact on slowing the spread of COVID-19?
Evidence: counties where the policies have been imposed have effectively increased social distancing and have seen slowing the spread of COVID-19.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Patients with a history of a bone marrow transplant are at higher risk, too, because their immune system would be suppressed long-term.
Question: will SARS-CoV2 infected people develop immunity?
Evidence:  According to this hypothesis vaccine formulations (tetanus, diphtheria, Bordetella pertussis) could be re-administrate after the first contact with Covid-19, better before the development of respiratory severe illness and of course before full-blown ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome). The CD4+ memory exploiting could help immune system to recall immunity of already know antigens against coronaviruses, avoiding or limiting lung crash until virus specific immunity develops and making it faster and prolonged. 
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: taking medication to lower fever, such as paracetamol (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil), should be avoided when sick with the new coronavirus
Question: Can taking medication to lower fever, such as paracetamol (tylenol) and ibuprofen (advil) worsen COVID-19?
Evidence: For NSAIDs, there is no clear scientific evidence linking ibuprofen and other NSAIDs to worsening of COVID-19; however, it seems prudent to continue them, if necessary to control pericarditis, and on the other hand, to prefer paracetamol for fever and systemic symptoms related to COVID-19.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Because the virus can be spread easily, many have resorted wearing face masks to protect themselves, as the virus is transmissible through human contact and exposure to respiratory droplets from an infected person.
Question: Can face masks protect me from the coronavirus disease?
Evidence: We find that the critical mask adherence is 5 per 100 when 80% wear face masks.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: trying to get too much of vitamin d from the sun puts people at risk for skin cancer.
Question: Does Vitamin D impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: Several studies demonstrated the role of vitamin D in reducing the risk of acute viral respiratory tract infections and pneumonia. These include direct inhibition with viral replication or with anti-inflammatory or immunomodulatory ways. In the meta-analysis, vitamin D supplementation has been shown as safe and effective against acute respiratory tract infections. Thus, people who are at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency during this global pandemic should consider taking vitamin D supplements to maintain the circulating 25(OH)D in the optimal levels (75-125nmol/L).
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: The test suggests that people who have had the coronavirus are at no risk of further spreading the infection 
Question: Can people recover from COVID-19?
Evidence: In this situation, it is imperative to understand the possible outcome of COVID-19 recovered patients and determine if they have any other detrimental illnesses by longitudinal analysis to safeguard their life in future.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: researchers studying the spread of the virus pinpoints COVID-19's likely origin to a wet market, or live animal
Question: what is the origin of COVID-19
Evidence: The results obtained from various AI-enabled experiments using clustering algorithms demonstrate that all examined COVID-19 virus genomes belong to a cluster that also contains bat and pangolin coronavirus genomes.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Coronavirus is just like the common cold.
Question: How dangerous is COVID-19?
Evidence: Temporal analyses of laboratory results revealed that compared to influenza, patients with COVID-19 exhibited a continued increase in the white blood cell count, rapid decline of hemoglobin, more rapid increase in blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and D-dimer, and higher level of alanine transaminase, C-reactive protein, ferritin, and fibrinogen.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: The virus is man-made:
Question: Does Vitamin C impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: CONCLUSION The use of IV vitamin C in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 disease may be feasible.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Taking a sauna or hot bath can kill covid-19
Question: Does heat prevent COVID-19?
Evidence:  Virus test results revealed that 99.8% of the aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 was caught and killed by a single pass through a novel Ni-foam-based filter when heated up to 200 C. Additionally, the same filter was also used to catch and kill 99.9% of Bacillus anthracis, an airborne spore. This study paves the way for preventing transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other highly infectious airborne agents in closed environments.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Dexamethasone Treatment in Covid-19 Among hospitalized patients with Covid-19, treatment with dexamethasone resulted in lower 28-day mortality than usual care
Question: what evidence is there for dexamethasone as a treatment for COVID-19?
Evidence: To date, there has been no definite therapy for COVID-19.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Vitamin D levels may impact COVID-19 mortality rates
Question: Does Vitamin D impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: In Europe, there were no correlations for both recovery (r= 0.040) and mortality rate (r= -0.035).
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: there is no reason to believe cold weather can kill the new coronavirus  or other diseases, for that matter.
Question: how does the coronavirus respond to changes in the weather
Evidence: Being a novel pandemic coronavirus version, it might be ongoing during summer conditions associated with higher air temperatures, low relative humidity and precipitation levels.
Verdict: Supports
Claim:  While it has been established that the virus spreads through infected people, many people want to know if they can be exposed to the virus through the food they eat.
Question: Can COVID-19 spread through food?
Evidence: There have been no reports of SARS-COV-2 transmission by blood-feeding arthropods such as mosquitoes.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, has declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic
Question: When was the COVID-19 pandemic declared?
Evidence: Coronavirus disease 2019 commonly designated as COVID-19 has been declared by World health Organisation (WHO) as a pandemic on 11 March 2020.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: There is no research showing that using or consuming any natural or herbal products, including essential oils, eucalyptus oil or witch hazel, will prevent infection with the 2019 novel coronavirus.
Question: Are there natural remedies that will prevent me from getting infected with COVID-19?
Evidence: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a new strain that was discovered in 2019 and has not been previously identified in humans. 
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: smokers less likely to catch COVID-19
Question: Can smoking help in preventing COVID-19?
Evidence: At this time there is no clear evidence that smoking is protective against COVID-19, so the established recommendations to avoid smoking should be emphasized.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: the addition of zinc to hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin was associated with a decrease in mortality in patients who were not admitted to the intensive care unit.
Question: does hydroxychloroquine treat COVID-19?
Evidence: We found that fatalities are 18.8% (9/48) in HCQ group, which is significantly lower than 47.4% (238/502) in the NHCQ group (P<0.001). The time of hospital stay before patient death is 15 (10-21) days and 8 (4-14) days for the HCQ and NHCQ groups, respectively (P<0.05). The levels of inflammatory cytokine IL-6 were significantly reduced from 22.2 (8.3-118.9) pg mL-1 at the beginning of the treatment to 5.2 (3.0-23.4) pg mL-1 (P<0.05) at the end of the treatment in the HCQ group but there is no change in the NHCQ group.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Scientists now suspect this coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, originated in a bat and somehow hopped to another animal, possibly the pangolin, which then passed it on to humans
Question: what is the origin of COVID-19
Evidence: Zhou et al (1) mentioned that 'Direct contact with intermediate host animals or consumption of wild animals was suspected to be the main route of SARSCoV2 transmission.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Data has shown that the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mainly spreads from person to person among those in close contact (within about 6 feet, or 2 meters). 
Question: Can face masks protect me from the coronavirus disease?
Evidence: Together, this study suggested that medical masks are adequate for use on most social occasions, and both medical masks and N95 masks can be reused for a few days with steam decontamination between use.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: mask-wearing can lessen COVID-19 severity
Question: Can face masks protect me from the coronavirus disease?
Evidence: Wearing medical masks or N95 masks (namely N95 respirators) can slow the virus spread and reduce the infection risk.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: COVID-19 originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China -  and not naturally in wildlife
Question: what is the origin of COVID-19
Evidence: Recent research results suggest that bats or pangolins might be the original hosts for the virus based on comparative studies using its genomic sequences.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: coronavirus could be detected on these surfaces for the following amounts of time: Aerosols: up to 3 hours; Copper: up to 4 hours; Cardboard: up to 24 hours; Plastic: up to 2-3 days; Stainless Steel: up to 2-3 days
Question: touching a contaminated surface will not make you sick
Evidence: The contaminated surface environment in hospitals plays an important role in the transmission of several key nosocomial pathogens including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus spp., Clostridium difficile, Acinetobacter spp., and norovirus.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: COVID-19 takes mental toll on youth, minorities, essential workers
Question: How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted mental health?
Evidence: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has produced substantial health challenges from the perspective of both its direct health complications and the disruption to delivery of standard care for individuals with a range of acute and chronic health issues.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Does COVID-19 spread through food? Yes, it is possible
Question: Can COVID-19 spread through food?
Evidence: Agriculture and the food sector are critical to food and nutrition security because they not only produce food but also contribute to economic empowerment by employing a large share of female and male workers, especially in developing countries. 
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: But until we understand more about who is a carrier of COVID-19, the goal of wearing a mask should be to protect others from your own respiratory droplets. And any mask is better than no mask.
Question: Does a surgical mask help avoid COVID-19?
Evidence: The patient was transported to operating theatre with supplemental oxygen over a face mask and plastic covering over the trolley.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: You may have heard that coronaviruses can infect animals and wondered whether your pets could get COVID-19 -- or pass the virus to you. 
Question: Can animals spread COVID-19?
Evidence: Cellular angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the receptor of SARS-CoV-2 which is identical or similar in different species of animals such as pigs, ferrets, cats, orangutans, monkeys, and humans. Moreover, a recent study predicted that dog might be secondary host during the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 from bat to human. Therefore, there is a possibility of spreading SARS-CoV-2 through domestic pets.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Proper Vitamin D Levels May Reduce Coronavirus Complications
Question: Does Vitamin D impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: Several studies demonstrated the role of vitamin D in reducing the risk of acute viral respiratory tract infections and pneumonia. These include direct inhibition with viral replication or with anti-inflammatory or immunomodulatory ways. In the meta-analysis, vitamin D supplementation has been shown as safe and effective against acute respiratory tract infections. Thus, people who are at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency during this global pandemic should consider taking vitamin D supplements to maintain the circulating 25(OH)D in the optimal levels (75-125nmol/L).
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin have been used to treat patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). However, Hydroxychloroquine it is not safe.
Question: does hydroxychloroquine treat COVID-19?
Evidence: We found that fatalities are 18.8% (9/48) in HCQ group, which is significantly lower than 47.4% (238/502) in the NHCQ group (P<0.001). The time of hospital stay before patient death is 15 (10-21) days and 8 (4-14) days for the HCQ and NHCQ groups, respectively (P<0.05). The levels of inflammatory cytokine IL-6 were significantly reduced from 22.2 (8.3-118.9) pg mL-1 at the beginning of the treatment to 5.2 (3.0-23.4) pg mL-1 (P<0.05) at the end of the treatment in the HCQ group but there is no change in the NHCQ group.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: favipiravir Protects Against Coronavirus
Question: Can favipiravir help treat COVID-19?
Evidence: Presently, data on the effectiveness and optimal dosage of favipiravir for treating COVID-19 is limited.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: The coronavirus can live for hours to days on surfaces like countertops and doorknobs. How long it survives depends on the material the surface is made from.
Question: touching a contaminated surface will not make you sick
Evidence: In this new study, human coronavirus 229E was rapidly inactivated on a range of copper alloys (within a few minutes for simulated fingertip contamination) and Cu/Zn brasses were very effective at lower copper concentration.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Vitamin C is a common remedy that will cure the common cold and flu, and covid-19.
Question: Does Vitamin C impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: The majority of documents encouraged the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grain foods. Thirty-one percent of the guidelines highlighted the importance of minerals and vitamins such as zinc and vitamins C, A, and D to maintain a well-functioning immune system.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: coronavirus patients are at greater risk of severe health effects from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, if they are suffering from certain conditions. 
Question: are patients taking Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE) inhibitors at increased risk for COVID-19?
Evidence: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers are not associated with severe COVID-19 infection in a multi-site UK acute hospital trust
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Coronavirus: No proof yet that pets can get COVID-19 from owners
Question: Can animals spread COVID-19 to people?
Evidence: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)--the virus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19)--has been detected in domestic dogs and cats, raising concerns of transmission from, to, or between these animals.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: there is evidences that pets, including cats and dogs, play a role in spreading COVID-19 to people.
Question: Can animals spread COVID-19?
Evidence: ferrets and cats are highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 as infected by virus inoculation and can transmit the virus directly or indirectly by droplets or airborne routes.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Vitamin C Protects Against Coronavirus
Question: Does Vitamin C impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: We identified a total of 17 patients who received IV vitamin C for COVID-19. The inpatient mortality rate in this series was 12% with 17.6% rates of intubation and mechanical ventilation. We noted a significant decrease in inflammatory markers, including ferritin and D-dimer, and a trend to decreasing FiO2 requirements, after vitamin C administration. 
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: The coronavirus was not engineered in a lab
Question: what is the origin of COVID-19
Evidence: The results obtained from various AI-enabled experiments using clustering algorithms demonstrate that all examined COVID-19 virus genomes belong to a cluster that also contains bat and pangolin coronavirus genomes.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: T cells may help COVID-19 patients - and people never exposed to the virus
Question: will SARS-CoV2 infected people develop immunity?
Evidence: we discovered evidence that SARS-CoV-2, along with related coronaviruses, used mutations to evade attack from the human immune system. Overall, we present an immunological resource for SARS-CoV-2 that could promote both therapeutic development and mechanistic research.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: The coronavirus pandemic, which has brought sickness, death, and disruption to daily life for millions of people worldwide, may also bring long-term mental health effects
Question: What psychological effects could the COVID-19 pandemic cause?
Evidence: Children are likely to be experiencing worry, anxiety and fear and older people are also those with underlying health conditions, having been identified as more vulnerable to COVID-19, can be extremely frightening and very fear-inducing.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: COVID-19 is fake and that the pandemic is part of a wider conspiracy to deploy 5G network towers
Question: Can 5G technology cause COVID-19?
Evidence: Findings revealed that belief in 5G COVID-19 conspiracy theories was positively correlated with state anger, which in turn, was associated with a greater justification of real-life and hypothetical violence in response to an alleged link between 5G mobile technology and COVID-19, alongside a greater intent to engage in similar behaviours in the future.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: No evidence' that vitamin D can prevent or treat COVID-19
Question: Does Vitamin D impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: testing positive for COVID-19 was associated with increasing age(RR(age<50)=1.05,p<0.021;RR(age[]50)=1.02,p<0.064)), non-white race(RR=2.54,p<0.01) and being likely vitamin D deficient (deficient/treatment-not-increased:RR=1.77,p<0.02) as compared to likely vitamin D sufficient(not-deficient/treatment-not-decreased), with predicted COVID-19 rates in the vitamin D deficient group of 21.6%(95%CI[14.0%-29.2%] ) versus 12.2%(95%CI[8.9%-15.4%]) in the vitamin D sufficient group.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: dogs or cats can spread COVID-19 to humans
Question: Can animals spread COVID-19?
Evidence: It is now accepted that the wild fauna, probably bats, constitute the initial reservoir of the virus, but little is known about the role pets can play in the spread of the disease in human communities, knowing the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to infect some domestic animals.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Does ibuprofen make coronavirus worse? the answer NO
Question: Can taking medication to lower fever, such as paracetamol (tylenol) and ibuprofen (advil) worsen COVID-19?
Evidence: The Expert Working Group on the Commission of Human Medicines in the UK and other organizations have stated that there is insufficient evidence to establish a link between ibuprofen and susceptibility to or exacerbation of COVID-19.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Coronaviruses are common viruses that can infect humans
Question: what is the origin of COVID-19
Evidence: Covid19 infection began in Wuhan (Hubei, China) in December, 2019.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Pet cats and dogs could transmit coronavirus to humans
Question: Can animals spread COVID-19?
Evidence: There is evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can infect felines, dogs and minks, and there is evidence of human-to-animal infection.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: taking medication to lower fever, such as paracetamol (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil), should be avoided when sick with the new coronavirus
Question: Can taking medication to lower fever, such as paracetamol (tylenol) and ibuprofen (advil) worsen COVID-19?
Evidence: For NSAIDs, there is no clear scientific evidence linking ibuprofen and other NSAIDs to worsening of COVID-19;
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Taking a hot bath does not prevent the new coronavirus disease 
Question: Does heat prevent COVID-19?
Evidence: Of note, 44.12% of the detected IgM levels were dropped below the cutoff value after heating, suggesting heat inactivation can lead to false-negative results of these samples.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Masks can lead to pneumonia or other lung infections
Question: what are the best masks for preventing infection by Covid-19?
Evidence: the American College of Physicians (ACP) provides recommendations based on the best available evidence through 14 April 2020 on the effectiveness of N95 respirators, surgical masks, and cloth masks in reducing transmission of infection.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: mask-wearing can lessen COVID-19 severity
Question: Can face masks protect me from the coronavirus disease?
Evidence: Our results indicate that surgical face masks could prevent transmission of human coronaviruses and influenza viruses from symptomatic individuals.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 also can use lectins to enter the cell
Question: are there any drugs that work for SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2 in animals?
Evidence: Several efforts are currently made to find a treatment for COVID-19 patients. So far, several anti-viral and immunosuppressive or immunomodulating drugs have demonstrated some efficacy on COVID-19 both in vitro and in animal models as well as in cases series. 
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Social distancing is key to stopping coronavirus
Question: has social distancing had an impact on slowing the spread of COVID-19?
Evidence: Our models predict these strict social distancing measures caused a 79% and 61% reduction in the daily cases of COVID-19 across Australia and New Zealand respectively. 
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Cytokine storm can severely damage lungs and lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome and death in covid-19 patients
Question: Does Vitamin D impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: A significant negative correlation (p=0.033) has been observed between mean vitamin D levels and COVID-19 cases per one million population in European countries.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Is Dexamethasone the COVID-19 Cure We've Been Looking For? No Absolutely not
Question: what evidence is there for dexamethasone as a treatment for COVID-19?
Evidence: To date, there has been no definite therapy for COVID-19.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: There is much more to coronaviruses than SARS-CoV-2. Coronaviruses are actually a family of hundreds of viruses.
Question: what is the origin of COVID-19
Evidence: A novel coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome-CoV-2) that initially originated from Wuhan, China, in December 2019 has already caused a pandemic.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Patients with sufficient levels of vitamin D are less likely to experience complications and die from COVID-19
Question: Does Vitamin D impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: Several studies demonstrated the role of vitamin D in reducing the risk of acute viral respiratory tract infections and pneumonia. These include direct inhibition with viral replication or with anti-inflammatory or immunomodulatory ways. In the meta-analysis, vitamin D supplementation has been shown as safe and effective against acute respiratory tract infections. Thus, people who are at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency during this global pandemic should consider taking vitamin D supplements to maintain the circulating 25(OH)D in the optimal levels (75-125nmol/L).
Verdict: Supports
Claim: For example, patients with [high blood pressure] or diabetes have worse outcomes with COVID-19
Question: are patients taking Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE) inhibitors at increased risk for COVID-19?
Evidence: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers are not associated with severe COVID-19 infection in a multi-site UK acute hospital trust
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: The fall will bring new risks in the COVID-19 pandemic along with colder weather and indoor family holiday gatherings, Canada's chief public health officer warned Friday.
Question: how does the coronavirus respond to changes in the weather
Evidence: Results indicated that temperatures had a negative linear relationship with the number of confirmed cases.
Verdict: Refutes