jpd459/healthver_resplit_larger huggingface dataset:
Claim: Vitamin D prevents our immune systems from becoming dangerously overactive. So, having healthy levels of vitamin D could protect covid-19 patients against severe complications, including death, 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: Vitamin D can Protect Me from Coronavirus
Question: Does Vitamin C impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: Although COVID-19 can be rapidly diagnosed, efficient clinical treatment of COVID-19 remains unavailable, resulting in high fatality.
Verdict: Refutes
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: Patients who take ACEIs and ARBS may be at increased risk of severe disease outcomes due to SARS-CoV-2 infections.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil) are both over-the-counter (OTC) medications that can be used to relieve pain caused by covid-19
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: Supports
Claim: There is evidence that under certain conditions, people with COVID-19 seem to have infected others who were more than 6 feet away.
Question: has social distancing had an impact on slowing the spread of COVID-19?
Evidence: social distancing and have seen slowing the spread of COVID-19.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Nevertheless, COVID-19 deaths are less likely to be confounded by testing capacity since those with severe symptoms are expected to attend the hospital independently of the weather
Question: how does the coronavirus respond to changes in the weather
Evidence: COVID-19, due to its regular flu-like symptoms, is also expected to show similar seasonality and subside as the global temperatures rise in the northern hemisphere with the onset of spring
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: There is not currently a cure for COVID-19 or a vaccine against coronavirus.
Question: Does garlic protect against covid-19
Evidence: In conclusion, Allium sativum may be an acceptable preventive measure against COVID-19 infection to boost immune system cells and to repress the production and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines as well as an adipose tissue derived hormone leptin having the proinflammatory nature.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Surgical masks can prevent catching covid-19
Question: Can face masks protect me from the coronavirus disease?
Evidence: We also demonstrated that three brands of medical masks blocked over 99% viruses in aerosols. The avian coronavirus was completely inactivated after being steamed for 5 minutes.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Coronavirus (COVID-19) live map tracker from Microsoft Bing
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: Neutral
Claim: We do not recommend people wear masks to prevent transmitting the covid-19 if you do not have symptoms.
Question: Does a surgical mask help avoid COVID-19?
Evidence: Nevertheless, high quality standard surgical masks (type II/IIR according to European Norm EN 14683) appear to be as effective as FFP2 masks in preventing droplet-associated viral infections of HCWs as reported from influenza or SARS.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: covid-19 Patients are unlikely to be reinfected shortly after they recover
Question: Are you immune to COVID-19 after recovering from it?
Evidence: Recently, an increasing number of reports have indicated that a few patients who were believed to have recovered from COVID-19 initially tested negative but later tested positive.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: If you are considered high risk, you may show rarer and more severe symptoms.
Question: what are the early symptoms of COVID-19?
Evidence: Acute abdomen as an early symptom of COVID-19.
Verdict: Neutral
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 was associated with increased composite poor outcome, including mortality, severe COVID-19, ARDS, need for ICU care and disease progression in patients with COVID-19.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: if you get flu shots you will not get flu and covid-19
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. This provides both evidence and impetus for governments considering similar measures in response to COVID-19 and other pandemics.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: dexamethasone, a steroid commonly used to treat inflammation, can drastically reduce death in patients who are severely sick with COVID-19.
Question: Is dexamethasone effective for treating COVID-19?
Evidence: In June 2020, a large randomised controlled clinical trial in the UK found that dexamethasone was effective in reducing the number of deaths in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Vitamin C Protects Against Coronavirus
Question: Does Vitamin C impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: Dietary supplementation has not been linked to COVID-19 prevention.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Two medical-grade masks, N99 and N95, are the most effective at filtering viral particles.
Question: what are the best masks for preventing infection by Covid-19?
Evidence: Neither mask type completely prevents transmission, which may be due to inappropriate handling and alternative transmission pathways. Therefore, compliance with a bundle of infection control measures including thorough hand hygiene is key.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: COVID-19 does not have a natural origin
Question: what is the origin of COVID-19
Evidence: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) originated in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, Central China
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Social Distancing Key to Lowering COVID-19 Disease Risk
Question: has social distancing had an impact on slowing the spread of COVID-19?
Evidence: The decentralized strategy is insufficient when used alone, but offers the best results when combined with the centralized one. Indeed, the (C+D) is the most efficient isolation strategy at mitigating the network superspreaders and reducing the highest node degrees to less than 10% of their initial values.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: My advice would be to take those vitamin K supplements to cure covid-19
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: vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, helps prevent the destruction of the alveolar capillaries in the lungs and helps control the severity of the disease that can progress to potentially deadly pneumonia.
Question: Does Vitamin C impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: Some nutrients are actively involved in the proper functioning and strengthening of the human immune system against viral infections including dietary protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin C, iron, zinc, and selenium. Few studies were done on the effect of dietary components on prevention of COVID-19, but supplementation with these nutrients may be effective in improving the health status of patients with viral infections.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: 5G technology is not linked to coronavirus
Question: Can 5G technology cause COVID-19?
Evidence: Amongst them, a popular theory has linked 5G to the spread of COVID-19, leading to misinformation and the burning of 5G towers in the United Kingdom.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Frequently using hand sanitizer can help stop the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19
Question: Where can I buy hand sanitizer and if I can’t find it in the store, can I make my own?
Evidence: To date, most of the effective hand sanitizer products are alcohol-based formulations containing 62%-95% of alcohol as it can denature the proteins of microbes and the ability to inactivate viruses.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: The COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant impact on mental health
Question: How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted mental health?
Evidence: The socio-health emergency caused by COVID-19 may have a significant psychological impact on the population.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: The COVID crisis has created mental health issues that cannot be ignored.
Question: How to stay mentally healthy during COVID-19 crisis?
Evidence: In this study, we aimed to explore the elements that may reduce the negative effects on mental health of the quarantine period imposed by most governments during this worldwide crisis.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: SARS-CoV-2, like other coronaviruses, can infect people of any age. However, older adults or individuals with preexisting health conditions, such as diabetes or asthma, are more likely to become severely ill.
Question: what kinds of complications related to COVID-19 are associated with diabetes
Evidence: Our data support the notion that diabetes should be considered as a risk factor for a rapid progression and bad prognosis of COVID-19.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: obesity is the most common risk factor for severe illness from COVID-19 with over 30% of the population affected. Obesity causes several health issues that predispose people to complications.
Question: will SARS-CoV2 infected people develop immunity?
Evidence: The number of these epitopes and the prevalence of the common coronaviruses suggest that a large part of the world population has some degree of specific immunity against SARS-CoV-2 already, even without having been infected by that virus.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: the vitamin D deficiency that is not sufficiently treated is associated with COVID-19 risk.
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: My advice would be to take those vitamin K supplements to cure covid-19
Question: Does Vitamin C impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: Although COVID-19 can be rapidly diagnosed, efficient clinical treatment of COVID-19 remains unavailable, resulting in high fatality.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: the pets caught the new coronavirus from close contact with people who had it.
Question: Can animals spread COVID-19?
Evidence: Humans showing clinical symptoms of respiratory infections have been undergoing for COVID-19 diagnostic test but many infected people and few pets confirmed with SARS-CoV-2 remained asymptomatic. 
Verdict: Supports
Claim: many people around the world, including concerned citizens, scientist and even governmental officials, are becoming aware of the danger of 5G. 
Question: Can 5G technology cause COVID-19?
Evidence: 5G communication technology has the characteristics of faster speed, shorter time delay and denser capacity. In COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control work, it can further improve the efficiency of doctors&apos; diagnosis, improve patients&apos; medical experience, realize the remote sharing of high-quality medical resources and real-time information exchange, effectively block the spread of epidemic, alleviate the shortage of medical resources and medical staff, and make the epidemic prevention and control more efficient.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Vitamin D supplements can help avoid COVID-19 infection.
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: I've heard hot drinks can kill the virus.
Question: Can drinking hot green tea help in preventing COVID-19?
Evidence: Lack of specific drug molecules or treatment strategy against this disease makes it more devastating. Thus, there is an urgent need of effective drug molecules to fight against COVID-19.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: wearing a mask is effective in preventing COVID-19
Question: what are the best masks for preventing infection by Covid-19?
Evidence: Most hospitals have implemented universal masking for their healthcare workers, and the Center for Disease Control currently advises even the general public to wear cloth masks when outdoors. The pertinent need for masks arises from plausible dissemination of the SARS-CoV-2 through close contacts, as well as the possibility of virus transmission from asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic, and mildly symptomatic individuals.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: The results of a trial that found dexamethasone reduced the risk of death in extremely ill coronavirus patients
Question: Is dexamethasone effective for treating COVID-19?
Evidence: Trials such as the SOLIDARITY and RECOVERY are ongoing, and first results were announced in favour of therapy with dexamethasone with a significant trend showing greatest benefit among those patients requiring ventilation.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: an uptick in COVID-19 cases among young people could put older populations at higher risk of exposure to the virus, which has proven to be more deadly for those who are older or have underlying conditions
Question: what are the mortality rates overall and in specific populations
Evidence: We estimate an overall infection fatality rate of 1.29% (95% credible interval [CrI] 0.89 - 2.01), as well as large differences by age, with a low infection fatality rate of 0.05% for under 60 year old (CrI 0-.19) and a substantially higher 4.25% (CrI 3.01-6.39) for people above 60 years of age.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: What does it feel like to recover from Covid-19? - It can take a while to feel normal after a viral infection.
Question: Are you immune to COVID-19 after recovering from it?
Evidence: Contrary to this picture, we describe a case of a patient recovered from COVID19 pneumonia with positive serology, followed up by 6 negative nasopharyngeal swabPCR tests performed along 1 month, who later on, after exposure to the virus, presented another positive RTPCR test and a second IgM seroconversion.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Heartburn drug linked to 'reduced risk of death' in COVID-19 patients "Famotidine is commonly used for gastric acid suppression but also has recently gained attention as an antiviral that may inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication, 
Question: how do people die from the coronavirus?
Evidence: The cause of most deaths has been acute pneumonia.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Saline nasal rinses will protect me against the COVID-19 virus.
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: Refutes
Claim: Coronavirus may have originated in bats or pangolins.
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: Hospitalization rates and deaths among Black Americans for COVID-19 are significantly higher than for their white peers
Question: Does Vitamin D impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: In Middle East, the recovery rate (r= 0.267) and mortality rate (r= -0.217) showed a medium correlation.
Verdict: Neutral
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: 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: there is strong evidence that the covid-19 virus can spread through food.
Question: Can COVID-19 spread through food?
Evidence: little attention has been paid to food safety and its potential linkage with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Verdict: Neutral
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: In the southern cities, the ambient temperature and air pollution have a negative interactive effect on COVID-19 transmission, implying that rising temperature restrains the facilitating effects of air pollution and that they jointly lead to a decrease in new confirmed cases.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: animals develope fever as an evolutionary response to infection.
Question: Can taking medication to lower fever, such as paracetamol (tylenol) and ibuprofen (advil) worsen COVID-19?
Evidence: However, available data from limited studies show administration of recombinant ACE2 improves lung damage caused by respiratory viruses, suggesting ibuprofen use may be beneficial in COVID-19 disease. 
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Self-quarantine help to stop the spread of the virus
Question: has social distancing had an impact on slowing the spread of COVID-19?
Evidence: Discussion: The combined social distancing measures implemented by the Greek authorities within the first few weeks after the first confirmed case of the virus reduced the COVID-19 growth rate.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: 2 m, or 6 feet, do not represent a wall, but rather that behaviour can help minimize risk by increasing separation distances and relative position for longer conversations when masks are not used
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: Supports
Claim: Many rheumatoid arthritis patients are on medications that suppress the immune system, making them more vulnerable to infection - but those same drugs could also help fight COVID-19
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: Hydroxychloroquine is a medication that doctors prescribe to treat a variety of conditions, including malaria, arthritis, and lupus.
Question: does hydroxychloroquine treat COVID-19?
Evidence: the use of hydroxychloroquine alone was associated with increased mortality in COVID-19 patients.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Experts say there are a number of reasons why COVID-19 is a more serious illness than the seasonal flu.
Question: How does the coronavirus differ from seasonal flu?
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: Supports
Claim: Dogs may be able to spread coronavirus to humans despite showing no symptoms
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: Neutral
Claim: COVID symptoms include a high fever, a new cough, and loss of smell and taste
Question: what are the early symptoms of COVID-19?
Evidence: Anosmia and ageusia as primary symptoms of COVID-19
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Smokers 'four times less likely' to contract Covid-19
Question: Can smoking help in preventing COVID-19?
Evidence: Epidemiological and laboratory research seems to suggest that smoking and perhaps nicotine alone could reduce the severity of COVID-19.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: It's very important to do what you can to reduce the risk of you and other people getting ill with coronavirus.
Question: has social distancing had an impact on slowing the spread of COVID-19?
Evidence: The decentralized strategy is insufficient when used alone, but offers the best results when combined with the centralized one. Indeed, the (C+D) is the most efficient isolation strategy at mitigating the network superspreaders and reducing the highest node degrees to less than 10% of their initial values.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: The virus survives better in cold
Question: how does the coronavirus respond to changes in the weather
Evidence: Each 1 C rise of temperature was associated with a 4.8951% (t = 2.29, p = 0.0226) decrease in the number of daily cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Nevertheless, COVID-19 deaths are less likely to be confounded by testing capacity since those with severe symptoms are expected to attend the hospital independently of the weather
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: Neutral
Claim: A headache isn't a common symptom of the covid-19
Question: Is a headache sign of the coronavirus disease?
Evidence: Symptomatic COVID19 patients, around 6%10%, also reported headache as a presenting symptom.
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: Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is now a pandemic threat. This virus is supposed to be spread by human to human transmission.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, originated from wild animals (likely bats) in China.
Question: Can animals spread COVID-19?
Evidence: There is currently no indication that feline- or canine-to-human transmission can occur, though there is rising evidence of the reverse.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: the majority of COVID-19 deaths had contributing conditions
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: BCG vaccine can not protect against COVID-19 infection
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: Refutes
Claim: COVID and the flu have similar symptoms
Question: How does the coronavirus differ from seasonal flu?
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: Face masks might reduce coronavirus spread
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: Supports
Claim: No evidence of cytokine storm in COVID-19
Question: what is a cytokine storm and how is it related to COVID-19?
Evidence: The disease progresses rapidly, and the mortality is high. Certain evidence shows that, during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, the severe deterioration of some patients has been closely related to the cytokine storm in their bodies.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Does heat prevent COVID-19? No, Absolutely not
Question: Does heat prevent COVID-19?
Evidence: It is suggested that Chinese medicine of clearing heat and removing toxin should be used to prevent the uninfected people from COVID-19, and intervene in the early stage of the disease and control the development of it to be severe by inhibiting the cytokine storm.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: In patients with both COVID-19 and cancer, immunotherapy might increase the immune system response, which could already be overactive because of the COVID-19 infection.
Question: will SARS-CoV2 infected people develop immunity?
Evidence: Based on animal experiments, already acquired data on other coronavirus types and plausibility assumptions, it can be assumed that seroconverted patients have an immunity of limited duration and only a very low risk of reinfection.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: dogs or cats can spread COVID-19 to humans
Question: Can animals spread COVID-19?
Evidence: Using data from probable cat-to-cat transmission in Wuhan, China, we estimated the basic reproduction number R0 under this scenario at 1.09 (95% confidence interval: 1.05, 1.13). This value is much lower than the R0 reported for humans and close to one, indicating that the sustained transmission between cats is unlikely to occur.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: vitamin C prevent COVID-19, among other advice
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 drug pixatimod is a potent inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 viral attachment and invasion in Vero cell culture, with a reduction of cytopathic effect when applied at concentrations within the established therapeutic concentrations.
Question: are there any drugs that work for SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2 in animals?
Evidence: We show that a high (5106 pfu) and medium (5104 pfu) dose of SARS-CoV-2 induces consistent upper respiratory tract (URT) viral RNA shedding in both groups of six challenged animals, whilst a low dose (5102 pfu) resulted in only one of six displaying signs of URT viral RNA replication.  
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Many supplements and natural or other alternative treatments are being promoted to prevent or treat coronavirus (COVID-19). None have been proven to work, but some have potential benefit.
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: Supports
Claim: nearly 90% of patients hospitalized with coronavirus (COVID-19) had one or more underlying health conditions.
Question: what kinds of complications related to COVID-19 are associated with hypertension?
Evidence: Hypertension was associated with increased composite poor outcome, including mortality, severe COVID-19, ARDS, need for ICU care and disease progression in patients with COVID-19.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Further studies are needed to understand if and how different animals could be affected by the virus and the role animals may play in the spread of COVID-19. 
Question: Can animals spread COVID-19 to people?
Evidence: Likewise, the S protein nucleotide sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus isolated in domestic animals and humans is identical, and the replication of the SARS-CoV-2 in cats is efficient.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Covid-19 seems to most seriously affect older people
Question: what are the mortality rates overall and in specific populations
Evidence: Mortality was significantly associated with older age, lower body mass index, chronic renal disease, higher Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, lower PaO2/FIO2 ratio, higher D-dimer, higher C-reactive protein, and receipt of mechanical ventilation, vasopressors, renal replacement therapy, or vasodilator therapy.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: The coronavirus may have been leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology
Question: what is the origin of COVID-19
Evidence: While this novel coronavirus disease (covid-19) frequently induces mild diseases, it has also generated severe diseases among certain populations, including older-aged individuals with underlying diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Viruses, like the novel coronavirus, may also aggravate preexisting diabetic systems leading to added challenges managing blood sugar levels and worse outcomes.
Question: what kinds of complications related to COVID-19 are associated with diabetes
Evidence: obesity represents the strongest predictor for Covid-19 followed by diabetes and hypertension in both sexes
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Social Distancing Key to Lowering COVID-19 Disease Risk
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: Even younger people may experience a similar pattern of severe disease as older people
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: no evidence COVID-19 impact on mental health
Question: How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted mental health?
Evidence: Of all respondents, 24.7% reported a moderate or severe psychological impact, and 48.8% showed mental health problems.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: COVID-19 is caused by infection with a new coronavirus (called SARS-CoV-2) and flu is caused by infection with influenza viruses.
Question: what are the early symptoms of COVID-19?
Evidence: Anosmia and ageusia have recently been hinted as significant early symptoms in COVID-19.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: As cold weather arrives, U.S. states see record increases
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: Supports
Claim: Additionally, even if you are low risk (healthy, young), social distancing can reduce your risk of contracting COVID-19 and passing it on to someone around you that is at risk.
Question: has social distancing had an impact on slowing the spread of COVID-19?
Evidence: social distancing and have seen slowing the spread of COVID-19.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: When the cold weather arrives, the number of cases from covid-19 will increase
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: specific medications for high blood pressure could be linked with worse outcomes for COVID-19 patients.
Question: are patients taking Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE) inhibitors at increased risk for COVID-19?
Evidence: The present study has found that the use of ACE inh/ARBs therapy might be associated with an increased in-hospital mortality in patients who were diagnosed with Covid-19 pneumonia.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: spread is uncommon so social distancing still make sense
Question: has social distancing had an impact on slowing the spread of COVID-19?
Evidence: the centralized social distancing is necessary to minimize the pandemic spreading.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: New Evidence Suggests Young Children Spread Covid-19 More efficiently than adults
Question: what are the health outcomes for children who contract COVID-19?
Evidence: Eight of 260 children diagnosed with severe COVID-19 pneumonia were included in the study.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Colloidal silver can cure COVID-19
Question: Does garlic protect against covid-19
Evidence: In conclusion, Allium sativum may be an acceptable preventive measure against COVID-19 infection to boost immune system cells and to repress the production and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines as well as an adipose tissue derived hormone leptin having the proinflammatory nature.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, helps prevent the destruction of the alveolar capillaries in the lungs and helps control the severity of the disease that can progress to potentially deadly pneumonia.
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: Supports
Claim: Smokers seem less likely than non-smokers to fall ill with coronavirus
Question: Can smoking help in preventing COVID-19?
Evidence: Higher genetically proxied BMI and lifetime smoking score were associated with increased risk of sepsis in both UK Biobank (BMI: odds ratio 1.38 per standard deviation increase, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.27 to 1.51
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Marijuana sales have spiked during the coronavirus pandemic, but lung health experts warn smoking the substance could increase a person's risk of getting COVID-19. 
Question: Can smoking cannabis (weed) help in preventing COVID-19?
Evidence: Data indicate CVIR demonstrates significant trends across cannabis use intensity quintiles and with relaxed cannabis legislation. Recent cannabis use is independently predictive of CVIR in bivariate and multivariable adjusted models and intensity of use is interactively significant. Cannabis thus joins tobacco as a SARS2-CoV-2 risk factor.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Interest in vitamin D has spiked since the coronavirus outbreak, with many people wondering whether it can help prevent COVID-19 or make the disease less severe if an infection does happen.
Question: Does Vitamin D impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: A principal defence against uncontrolled inflammation, and against viral infection in general, is provided by T regulatory lymphocytes (Tregs). Treg levels have been reported to be low in many COVID-19 patients and can be increased by vitamin D supplementation. Low vitamin D levels have been associated with an increase in inflammatory cytokines and a significantly increased risk of pneumonia and viral upper respiratory tract infections. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increase in thrombotic episodes, which are frequently observed in COVID-19. Vitamin D deficiency has been found to occur more frequently in patients with obesity and diabetes. These conditions are reported to carry a higher mortality in COVID-19. If vitamin D does in fact reduce the severity of COVID-19 in regard to pneumonia/ARDS, inflammation, inflammatory cytokines and thrombosis, it is our opinion that supplements would offer a relatively easy option to decrease the impact of the pandemic.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: coronavirus can survive on plastic, metal surfaces, but it does not matter as transmission through inanimate surfaces is very small
Question: touching a contaminated surface will not make you sick
Evidence: It was found that 83% and 77% of the bedside surfaces of MRSA-positive and MRSA-negative patients respectively were contaminated with staphylococci at 08:00 hours, and that the staphylococcal concentrations increased by 80% at 1200 h over a 4-hour period with routine ward and clinical activities.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: in vivo preclinical results with favipiravir which indicate that antiviral efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 might only be achieved with a very high dose.
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: COVID-19 unlikely spreading from people to animals
Question: Can animals spread COVID-19?
Evidence: Although there is currently no evidence that animals play a substantial role in spreading COVID-19, CDC advises persons with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 to restrict contact with animals during their illness and to monitor any animals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and separate them from other persons and animals at home (1).
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: In some covid-19 cases, older adults and people of any age with underlying health conditions may have symptoms that are not typically seen in others, or they may take longer than others to develop fever and other symptoms.
Question: will SARS-CoV2 infected people develop immunity?
Evidence: Distinguishing pre-existing and de novo antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 will be critical for serology, seroprevalence and vaccine studies, as well as for our understanding of susceptibility to and natural course of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: taking mega-doses of vitamin C can cure COVID-19 (the disease caused by novel 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: Vitamin D deficiency linked to increased risk for COVID-19
Question: Does Vitamin D impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: A principal defence against uncontrolled inflammation, and against viral infection in general, is provided by T regulatory lymphocytes (Tregs). Treg levels have been reported to be low in many COVID-19 patients and can be increased by vitamin D supplementation. Low vitamin D levels have been associated with an increase in inflammatory cytokines and a significantly increased risk of pneumonia and viral upper respiratory tract infections. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increase in thrombotic episodes, which are frequently observed in COVID-19. Vitamin D deficiency has been found to occur more frequently in patients with obesity and diabetes. These conditions are reported to carry a higher mortality in COVID-19. If vitamin D does in fact reduce the severity of COVID-19 in regard to pneumonia/ARDS, inflammation, inflammatory cytokines and thrombosis, it is our opinion that supplements would offer a relatively easy option to decrease the impact of the pandemic.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: camostat mesylate inhibited infection of important target cells - human lung epithelial cells,
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: it is no coincidence that the world's first 5G-masts were in Wuhan-a misleading claim as 5G was piloted in multiple cities, and there have been severe COVID-19 outbreaks in parts of the world without any 5G network (e.g., Iran).
Question: Can 5G technology cause COVID-19?
Evidence: these patterns are not specific to 5G conspiratorial beliefs
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Coronavirus can harm your body even if you're asymptomatic
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: smokers are at greater risk of complications from COVID-19 than non-smokers. 
Question: Can smoking help in preventing COVID-19?
Evidence: Higher genetically proxied BMI and lifetime smoking score were associated with increased risk of sepsis in both UK Biobank (BMI: odds ratio 1.38 per standard deviation increase, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.27 to 1.51
Verdict: Supports
Claim: only people with visible symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are capable of spreading the virus
Question: what are the early symptoms of COVID-19?
Evidence: In our cohort, ODs were an early symptom of COVID-19
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: The lower number of COVID-19 cases in tropical countries might be due to warm-humid
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: Refutes
Claim: Some people claim taking apple cider vinegar for kidney stones can help dissolve current stones and prevent future ones.
Question: Can vinegar help in preventing COVID-19?
Evidence: Numerous clinical trials have been launched to identify effective treatments for COVID-19. Initial data from a placebo-controlled study suggest faster time to recovery in patients on remdesivir; it is now being evaluated in additional controlled studies.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Both vitamin C and vitamin D have been implicated in boosting immune response.
Question: Does Vitamin C impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: Dietary supplementation has not been linked to COVID-19 prevention.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: High blood pressure drugs do increase COVID-19 risk
Question: are patients taking Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE) inhibitors at increased risk for COVID-19?
Evidence: among patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19, ACEI/ARB use was not associated with increased risk of hospital admission.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Coronavirus origins: genome analysis suggests two viruses may have combined
Question: what is the origin of COVID-19
Evidence: However, the source(s) and transmission routine(s) of SARSCoV2 remain elusive' (1).
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: COVID-19: Surgical masks may help, but not as first line
Question: Does a surgical mask help avoid COVID-19?
Evidence: Surgeons and perioperative teams at risk for contracting COVID-19 should use appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), including N95 respirators or powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs), when risk of viral spread is high.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: There is no reason to believe that cold weather can kill the new coronavirus or other diseases.
Question: how does the coronavirus respond to changes in the weather
Evidence: meteorological conditions and air pollution, as concurring factors, impact COVID-19 transmission, using data on new confirmed cases from 219 prefecture cities from January 24 to February 29, 2020. Results revealed a kind of nonlinear dose-response relationship between temperature and coronavirus transmission
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: covid-19 Patients are unlikely to be reinfected shortly after they recover
Question: Are you immune to COVID-19 after recovering from it?
Evidence: Several studies suggest that acquired immunity may protect upon further exposure to SARSCOV2
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Can taking medication to lower fever, such as paracetamol (tylenol) and ibuprofen (advil) worsen COVID-19 ? Yes, you can. There has been a little confusion about the best over the counter treatments for COVID-19 symptoms.
Question: Can taking medication to lower fever, such as paracetamol (tylenol) and ibuprofen (advil) worsen COVID-19?
Evidence: It was recently suggested that ibuprofen might increase the risk for severe and fatal coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and should therefore be avoided in this patient population.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Your risk of getting very sick from COVID-19 is likely to be lower if your diabetes is well-managed.
Question: what kinds of complications related to COVID-19 are associated with diabetes
Evidence: the association between DM and COVID-19-induced severe complications is still unclear
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Coronavirus: No proof yet that pets can get COVID-19 from owners
Question: Can animals spread COVID-19 to people?
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: Covid-19 only kills the elderly, so younger people can relax
Question: Does garlic protect against covid-19
Evidence: 51% will drink ginger with honey and 42.7% eat garlic for infection prevention.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Diarrhea is first sign of illness for some COVID-19
Question: what are the early symptoms of COVID-19?
Evidence: Acute abdomen as an early symptom of COVID-19.
Verdict: Refutes