jpd459/healthver_resplit_larger huggingface dataset:
Claim: If you're uncomfortable, take acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) or aspirin
Question: Can taking medication to lower fever, such as paracetamol (tylenol) and ibuprofen (advil) worsen COVID-19?
Evidence: CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort of COVID-19 patients, ibuprofen use was not associated with worse clinical outcomes, compared with paracetamol or no antipyretic.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: COVID-19 patients who took hydroxychloroquine were less likely to die
Question: does hydroxychloroquine treat COVID-19?
Evidence: There is theoretical, experimental, preclinical and clinical evidence of the effectiveness of chloroquine in patients affected with COVID-19. 
Verdict: Supports
Claim: outbreaks of the new coronavirus will wane as winter turns to spring
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: Supports
Claim: the risk of death from COVID-19 is up to 50 percent higher in people with diabetes than in those without it.
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: Neutral
Claim: dexamethasone is not a treatment for covid-19.
Question: what evidence is there for dexamethasone as a treatment for COVID-19?
Evidence: dexamethasone may be useful for the short-term in severe, intubated, COVID-19 patients, but could be outright dangerous during recovery since the virus will not only persist, but the body will be prevented from generating protective antibodies.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: BCG vaccine can not protect against COVID-19 infection
Question: can bcg vaccine cure covid-19
Evidence: Universal immunization of BCG can provide great protection against the COVID-19 infection because the BCG vaccine gives broad protection against respiratory infections.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: The COVID crisis has created mental health issues that cannot be ignored.
Question: How to stay mentally healthy during COVID-19 crisis?
Evidence: Most day facilities for patients with psychiatric needs have been temporarily closed, whereas in residential facilities, patients who usually are free to come and go during the day have had to be confined in the facilities with very limited or no leave. These changes have produced considerable stresses on people with severe mental disorders.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: the covid-19 is a us biological weapon to reduce the planet's population
Question: does hydroxychloroquine treat COVID-19?
Evidence: early empiric short-term administration of HCQ in symptomatic individuals, may be a promising, safe and low-cost strategy.
Verdict: Neutral
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: 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: Neutral
Claim: Several new and repurposed drugs are being tested for their effectiveness in the treatment regime, and the development of vaccines is underway.
Question: are there any drugs that work for SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2 in animals?
Evidence: At this point, the data here presented on hydroxychloroquine either alone or combined with azithromycin (together with previously reported in vivo data in macaques and ferrets) provide no scientific basis for further use of the drug in humans.
Verdict: Neutral
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: A trend in favour of N95 respirators was observed in preventing laboratory-confirmed respiratory viral infections, laboratory-confirmed respiratory infection, and influenza like illness.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: The ideal face mask blocks large respiratory droplets from coughs or sneezes - the primary method by which people pass the coronavirus to others
Question: what are the best masks for preventing infection by Covid-19?
Evidence: Respirators such as filtering face piece (FFP) 2 masks were designed to protect HCWs, while surgical masks were originally intended to protect patients (e.g., during surgery). 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: Supports
Claim: Even though most people don't experience cytokine storm, certain types of infections are more likely to cause it than others. For reasons that aren't yet completely clear, the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 seems more prone to result in cytokine storm compared to diseases caused by some other viruses. 
Question: what is a cytokine storm and how is it related to COVID-19?
Evidence: The molecular mechanism of the cytokine storm has not been explored extensively yet.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: smoking weed can ease your stress during the coronavirus pandemic
Question: Can smoking cannabis (weed) help in preventing COVID-19?
Evidence: An epidemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) began in December 2019 and triggered a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). We aimed to find risk factors for the progression of COVID-19 to help reducing the risk of critical illness and death for clinical help.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: there is no relationship between the increased crimes and covid-19
Question: How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted violence in society, including violent crimes?
Evidence: Domestic violence is a global public health problem.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: getting coronavirus from another person remains by far the most likely route of infection
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: 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: In Europe, there were no correlations for both recovery (r= 0.040) and mortality rate (r= -0.035).
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: The COVID-19 virus can spread in hot and humid climates
Question: what are the early symptoms of COVID-19?
Evidence: The various symptoms identified for COVID-19 are fever, dry cough, sore throat, dyspnea, fatigue, myalgia, and headache. Olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions are emerging as a new symptom more in the European patients.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: dogs or cats can spread COVID-19 to humans
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: However, if you are generally healthy and not caring for a person with confirmed or probable COVID-19, it is not recommended that you wear a face mask
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: Refutes
Claim: Vitamin C infusion is not approved as a standard treatment for SARS-CoV-2 and thus was not part of the hospital's COVID-19 treatment regimen.
Question: Can vitamin C treat COVID-19?
Evidence: The use of IV vitamin C in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 disease may be feasible.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Looking at children as the silent spreaders of SARS-CoV-2
Question: what are the health outcomes for children who contract COVID-19?
Evidence: More studies are needed to further understand the presentation and outcomes of children with COVID-19 in children with special needs. 
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: What the various recent studies find is that having a Vitamin D level lower than 30ng/ml is a severe deficiency in Vitamin D and puts a person at higher risk of dying from a case of COVID-19.
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: Supports
Claim: COVID-19 is not a virus, but SARS-CoV-2 is
Question: Do COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 mean the same thing?
Evidence: The recently emerged SARS-CoV-2 (Coronaviridae; Betacoronavirus) is the underlying cause of COVID-19 disease.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Once a person has contracted coronavirus, it can take 2-14 days for symptoms to appear. The average incubation period appears to be roughly 5-6 days.
Question: what are the early symptoms of COVID-19?
Evidence: Acute abdomen as an early symptom of COVID-19.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Acetaminophen and ibuprofen are generally safe for reducing fever in young children.
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: Refutes
Claim: vitamin D can play in helping a patient fight off 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: Hand sanitizer has also been shown to be less effective than hand-washing at preventing the flu. So far, however, the evidence remains unclear, so it's still best to use hand sanitizers if soap and water aren't available.
Question: what hand sanitizers kill COVID-19?
Evidence: By extrapolating effectiveness of hand sanitizers on viruses of similar structure to SARS-CoV-2, this virus should be effectively inactivated with current hand hygiene products
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: countries that have had mass immunisation programmes with the BCG vaccine, the spread of Covid-19 seems to be slower.
Question: can bcg vaccine cure covid-19
Evidence: COVID-19 cases are reported very much less in the countries with universal BCG vaccination policies such as India, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Israel, Japan, etc. as compared to without BCG implemented countries such as the USA, Italy, Spain, Canada, UK, etc. 
Verdict: Supports
Claim: BCG vaccine can not protect against COVID-19 infection
Question: can bcg vaccine cure covid-19
Evidence: every 10% increase in the BCG index was associated with a 10.4% reduction in COVID-19 mortality.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: The CORONAVIRUS did not originate in nature and did not emerge from the market in Wuhan
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: Refutes
Claim: wearing a mask is effective in preventing COVID-19
Question: what are the best masks for preventing infection by Covid-19?
Evidence: Herein, we report that nosocomial infection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may be mitigated by using surgical masks and closed looped ventilation for both non-critical and critical patients.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Taking a hot bath does not prevent the new coronavirus disease 
Question: Does heat prevent COVID-19?
Evidence: Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) has spread widely throughout the world since the end of 2019. Nucleic acid testing (NAT) has played an important role in patient diagnosis and management of COVID-19.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Hand sanitizer has also been shown to be less effective than hand-washing at preventing the flu. So far, however, the evidence remains unclear, so it's still best to use hand sanitizers if soap and water aren't available.
Question: what hand sanitizers kill COVID-19?
Evidence:  There is currently no vaccine for COVID-19, leaving governments and public health agencies with little defense against the virus aside from advising or enforcing best practices for virus transmission prevention, which include hand-washing, physical distancing, use of face covers, and use of effective disinfectants.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: No, apple cider vinegar does not 'kill' coronavirus
Question: Can vinegar help in preventing COVID-19?
Evidence: In Unani medicine, during an epidemic, apart from isolation and quarantine, three measures are of utmost importance, (i) purification of surroundings using certain herbal drugs as fumigants or sprays, (ii) health promotion and immune-modulation, and (iii) use of health-protecting drugs and symptom-specific drugs. Drugs such as loban (Styrax benzoides W. G. Craib), sandroos (Hymenaea verrucosa Gaertn.) za'fran (Crocus sativus L.), vinegar etc. are prescribed in various forms.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: SARS-CoV-2 can use neuropilin-1, which is strongly expressed by endothelial cells and epithelial cells facing the nasal cavity
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: Coronavirus and COVID-19: Younger Adults Are at Risk, Too
Question: what are the mortality rates overall and in specific populations
Evidence: As COVID-19 mortality occurs mainly in elderly and as Africa has a comparably young population, the death rates should be lower than on other continents. We calculated standardised mortality ratios (SMR) using age-specific case fatality rates for COVID-19 and the age structure of the population of Africa and of other continents. Compared to a European or Northern American population, the standardised mortality ratio was only 0.22 and 0.25, respectively, corresponding to reduction of deaths rates to a quarter. Compared to the Asian and Latin American & Caribbean population, the SMR was 0.43 and 0.44, respectively, corresponding to half the death rate for Africa.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: immune system response varies between patients
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: transmission from surfaces is much lower risk than person to person.  
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: Neutral
Claim: Vitamin D reduces infection and impact of COVID-19
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: New findings have confirmed the efficacy of dietary vitamin supplements - including vitamin C and vitamin D - in helping the immune system fight off COVID-19. 
Question: Can I take any vitamins or supplements to prevent COVID-19?
Evidence: 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: COVID-19 is a seasonal disease
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 13-16 cases/day with a 1{degrees}C rise in temperature
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Very high vitamin C levels may create free radicals that destroy viruses and bacteria.
Question: Can vitamin C treat COVID-19?
Evidence: combinatorial VC and GA treatment for COVID-19 was associated with elevation of immunity and suppression of inflammatory stress, including activation of the T cell receptor signaling pathway, regulation of Fc gamma R-mediated phagocytosis, ErbB signaling pathway and vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathway. 
Verdict: Supports
Claim: inhibitors of endosomal acidification fusion (chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine) and redox enzymes (auranofin) used to treat rheumatoid arthritis have shown promising results against SARS-CoV-2 
Question: are there any drugs that work for SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2 in animals?
Evidence: The results suggest the effectiveness of Ribavirin, Remdesivir, Sofosbuvir, Galidesivir, and Tenofovir as potent drugs against SARS-CoV-2 since they tightly bind to its RdRp. In addition, the results suggest guanosine derivative (IDX-184), Setrobuvir, and YAK as top seeds for antiviral treatments with high potential to fight the SARS-CoV-2 strain specifically. 
Verdict: Neutral
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: counties where the policies have been imposed have effectively increased social distancing and have seen slowing the spread of COVID-19.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: taking vitamin D would reduce COVID-19 hospitalisations
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: Supports
Claim: Common Steroid Could Be Cheap and Effective Treatment for Severe COVID-19.
Question: Is dexamethasone effective for treating COVID-19?
Evidence: Many drugs have shown promise for treatment of COVID-19.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Hydroxychloroquine studies show drug is not effective for early treatment of mild covid-19
Question: does hydroxychloroquine treat COVID-19?
Evidence: mortality rate was increased when the treatment was conducted with hydroxychloroquine.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Several types of OTC medicine can help to reduce the fever, headaches, and body aches that may come with COVID-19. That includes acetaminophen and ibuprofen.
Question: Can taking medication to lower fever, such as paracetamol (tylenol) and ibuprofen (advil) worsen COVID-19?
Evidence: CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort of COVID-19 patients, ibuprofen use was not associated with worse clinical outcomes, compared with paracetamol or no antipyretic.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Some people with certain medical conditions, such as kidney problems, cannot safely take vitamin D.
Question: Does Vitamin C impact COVID-19 prevention and treatment?
Evidence: Dietary supplementation has not been linked to COVID-19 prevention.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Whilethe lopinavir-ritonavir-, hydroxychloroquine sulfate-, or emtricitabine-tenofovirtreated group exhibited lower overall clinical scores than the phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)-treated control group, the virus titers in nasal washes, stool specimens,and respiratory tissues were similar between all three antiviral-candidate-treated groups and the PBS-treated control group.
Question: are there any drugs that work for SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2 in animals?
Evidence: The results suggest the effectiveness of Ribavirin, Remdesivir, Sofosbuvir, Galidesivir, and Tenofovir as potent drugs against SARS-CoV-2 since they tightly bind to its RdRp. In addition, the results suggest guanosine derivative (IDX-184), Setrobuvir, and YAK as top seeds for antiviral treatments with high potential to fight the SARS-CoV-2 strain specifically. 
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Are there natural remedies that will prevent me from getting infected with COVID-19? No
Question: Are there natural remedies that will prevent me from getting infected with COVID-19?
Evidence: Foods and herbs could be used as dietary or complementary therapy to prevent infection and strengthen immunity, as antiviral agents for masks, as disinfectants to curb aerosol transmission, or as sanitizing agents to disinfect surfaces.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: [COVID-19] is an organic infection that is based on a living viral agent,. It's not something you can link with any kind of technology. 
Question: Can 5G technology cause COVID-19?
Evidence: these patterns are not specific to 5G conspiratorial beliefs
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Vitamin D : for prevention of 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: The virus is man-made:
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: Neutral
Claim: record increases in COVID-19 cases where chilly 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: People with untreated vitamin D deficiency are more likely to test positive for the COVID-19
Question: will SARS-CoV2 infected people develop immunity?
Evidence: 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. Finally, this administration could be helpful not only in already infected patients, but also before infection. In fact, people could have an immune system more ready when the contact with the Covid-19 will occur.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: reinfection can occur a few months after recovering from an initial bout of COVID-19. However, it appears his immune system protected the man from serious symptoms.
Question: Are you immune to COVID-19 after recovering from it?
Evidence: Several hospitals in different countries have detected SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the semen and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with severe COVID-19.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Surgical masks don't offer any protection for the wearer against the new coronavirus
Question: Does a surgical mask help avoid COVID-19?
Evidence: Respirators such as filtering face piece (FFP) 2 masks were designed to protect HCWs, while surgical masks were originally intended to protect patients (e.g., during surgery).
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Vitamins are critical to keeping the body, especially the immune system, healthy
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: COVID-19 does not have a natural origin
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: Refutes
Claim: Humans can not infect other animals with the Covid-19 virus.
Question: Can animals spread COVID-19?
Evidence: On April 22, CDC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported cases of two domestic cats with confirmed infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). 
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Vitamin D can Help With Covid-19 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: 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: When used for prophylaxis or treatment neither the standard human malaria dose (6.5 mg/kg) nor a high dose (50 mg/kg) of HCQ had any beneficial effect on clinical disease or SARS-CoV-2 kinetics (replication/shedding) in the Syrian hamster disease model. Similarly, HCQ prophylaxis/treatment (6.5 mg/kg) did not significantly benefit clinical outcome nor reduce SARS-CoV-2 replication/shedding in the upper and lower respiratory tract in the rhesus macaque disease model. In conclusion, our preclinical animal studies do not support the use of HCQ in prophylaxis/treatment of COVID-19.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Patients with severe COVID-19 may require stays of 10 days or longer in the ICU and mechanical ventilation.
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: Some of the treatment Trump has received isn't even available to the American public. 
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: With the so-called neutrophils and the monocytes we have found that these immune cells are activated, i.e. ready to defend the patient against COVID-19 in the case of mild disease courses.
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: Vitamin C, especially in the form of an intravenous (IV) infusion, is thought to help reverse some of the damage that COVID-19 can cause.
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: In general, the more closely you interact with others and the longer that interaction, the higher the risk of COVID-19 spread.
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: Seasonality of SARS-CoV-2: COVID-19 will go away on its own in warmer weather.
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: There is a significant correlation between low vitamin D levels and death from COVID-19
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: Supports
Claim: For example, with HIV, the immune system is already being attacked by that human immunodeficiency virus, leaving the body more vulnerable to other infections and diseases (such as the novel coronavirus)
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: People with chronic conditions like diabetes and lung and heart disease are at greater risk of being hospitalized due to the coronavirus - but more than one in five patients who end up in intensive care had no such health problems.
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: Hydroxychloroquine has been touted as a possible treatment for COVID-19 but it remains controversial as some experts believe it is unproven and may not be effective.
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: Can COVID-19 be passed through food? So far, there is no evidence that food is a likely source or route of transmission of the virus
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: 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: This has led to the hypothesis that use of ACEIs and ARBs may increase the risk of developing severe COVID-19.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: most people who died from COVID-19 had at least one other health condition when they died.
Question: how do people die from the coronavirus?
Evidence: Lack of personal protective equipment was cited as a common cause of death.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: pet cats and dogs can not get COVID-19 from their owners
Question: Can animals spread COVID-19?
Evidence: Although a few pets presented many clinical signs indicative for a coronavirus infection, no animal tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR and no antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 were detectable in their blood using an immunoprecipitation assay.
Verdict: Supports
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: 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: Supports
Claim: the use of ibuprofen does lead to more sever coronaviru outcomes
Question: Can taking medication to lower fever, such as paracetamol (tylenol) and ibuprofen (advil) worsen COVID-19?
Evidence: When compared to exclusive paracetamol users, no differences were observed in mortality rates or the need for respiratory support among patients using ibuprofen.
Verdict: Refutes
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: Vitamin D deficiency that is not sufficiently treated is associated with COVID-19 risk.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: These measures can help to stop the spread of the virus: Cancel events where lots of people gather, like concerts, festivals, and conferences. Work from home. Keep kids out of school. Don't travel by plane or train. Visit with family and friends by phone and computer instead of in person. Stand at least 6 feet away from people. Wear a mask in public Don't hug or shake hands with anyone except your immediate family. Do your shopping, especially for groceries or drugstore items, online if possible. If you do have to shop in person, keep a 6-foot distance between yourself and others.
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: Supports
Claim: The COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel (the Panel) recommends against the use of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine with or without azithromycin for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients (AI).
Question: does hydroxychloroquine treat COVID-19?
Evidence: early empiric short-term administration of HCQ in symptomatic individuals, may be a promising, safe and low-cost strategy.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: The virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is stable for several hours to days in aerosols and on surfaces
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: If you or another member of your household is showing signs of COVID-19, experts say you should treat your pets like you would any other family member. You should not have pets in the same room as someone who is sick because while they may not necessarily cause or get sick themselves, and we don't see them as a conduit, we don't necessarily want to bet the farm on that either
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: Supports
Claim: Sick food workers can spread COVID-19 disease to each other or to customers, even though they aren't spreading it through the food itself.
Question: Can COVID-19 spread through food?
Evidence: For the time being, the possibility of transmission through the food sector is considered negligible
Verdict: Neutral
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: social distancing is associated with a statistically-significant reduction in the doubling rate for all but three states.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Travel increases your chances of getting and spreading COVID-19.
Question: Is it safe to go outside during COVID-19 pandemic?
Evidence: All surgery performed in an epicenter of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, irrespective of the known or suspected severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) status of the patient, should be regarded as high risk and protection of the surgical team at the bedside should be at the highest level.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Can Nicotine Treat COVID-19? Researchers Think So
Question: Can smoking help in preventing COVID-19?
Evidence: Smoking has complicated effects on the immune system involving both up and down regulation, any of which might alone or in concert antagonize progression of COVID-19.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Can face masks help slow the spread of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19? Yes, face masks combined with other preventive measures, such as frequent hand-washing and social distancing, help slow the spread of the virus.
Question: what are the best masks for preventing infection by Covid-19?
Evidence: Herein, we report that nosocomial infection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may be mitigated by using surgical masks and closed looped ventilation for both non-critical and critical patients.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: masks can not slow the spread of coronavirus
Question: How much impact do masks have on preventing the spread of the COVID-19?
Evidence: Notably, masks are found to be useful with respect to both preventing illness in healthy persons and preventing asymptomatic transmission. Hypothetical mask adoption scenarios, for Washington and New York state, suggest that immediate near universal (80%) adoption of moderately (50%) effective masks could prevent on the order of 17--45% of projected deaths over two months in New York, while decreasing the peak daily death rate by 34--58%, absent other changes in epidemic dynamics. Even very weak masks (20% effective) can still be useful if the underlying transmission rate is relatively low or decreasing: In Washington, where baseline transmission is much less intense, 80% adoption of such masks could reduce mortality by 24--65% (and peak deaths 15--69%), compared to 2--9% mortality reduction in New York (peak death reduction 9--18%).
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: With the so-called neutrophils and the monocytes we have found that these immune cells are activated, i.e. ready to defend the patient against COVID-19 in the case of mild disease courses.
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 virus survives better in cold
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: Supports
Claim: Garlic and bleach won't cure coronavirus.
Question: Does garlic protect against covid-19
Evidence: Hoaxes (such as eating garlic or citrus to prevent COVID-19) were detected in 15 videos (10.9%).
Verdict: Supports
Claim: getting coronavirus from another person remains by far the most likely route of infection
Question: touching a contaminated surface will not make you sick
Evidence: Frequent touching of contaminated surfaces in public areas is therefore a potential route of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
Verdict: Refutes
Claim: Scientists think COVID-19 originated in bats and then jumped to another animal host, possibly pangolins, before spreading to humans.
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: Supports
Claim: But blocking the immune system's communications network as the coronavirus mounts an attack could have unintended consequences.
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: Depending on the material, the coronavirus can last on surfaces like countertops and doorknobs anywhere from several hours to days.
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: heaters can spread the coronavirus
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: surgical masks are helpful at reducing how much virus a sick person spreads.
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: Currently there is no evidence to support transmission of COVID-19 associated with food.
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: Is Muscle Pain a Symptom of Coronavirus? Yes
Question: Is a headache sign of the coronavirus disease?
Evidence: Cough, fever, headache and asthenia were the most prevalent symptoms.
Verdict: Supports
Claim: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are medications for patients with cardiovascular diseases including heart attacks, high blood pressure, diabetes and chronic kidney disease to name a few
Question: are patients taking Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE) inhibitors at increased risk for COVID-19?
Evidence: This has led to the hypothesis that use of ACEIs and ARBs may increase the risk of developing severe COVID-19.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: Cloth Masks Protect You From Getting the Coronavirus
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: Refutes
Claim: SARS-CoV-2 can use neuropilin-1, which is strongly expressed by endothelial cells and epithelial cells facing the nasal cavity
Question: are there any drugs that work for SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2 in animals?
Evidence: When used for prophylaxis or treatment neither the standard human malaria dose (6.5 mg/kg) nor a high dose (50 mg/kg) of HCQ had any beneficial effect on clinical disease or SARS-CoV-2 kinetics (replication/shedding) in the Syrian hamster disease model. Similarly, HCQ prophylaxis/treatment (6.5 mg/kg) did not significantly benefit clinical outcome nor reduce SARS-CoV-2 replication/shedding in the upper and lower respiratory tract in the rhesus macaque disease model. In conclusion, our preclinical animal studies do not support the use of HCQ in prophylaxis/treatment of COVID-19.
Verdict: Neutral
Claim: While there's not adequate evidence that wearing a face mask can help you get immunity like a vaccine would, it is a good way to help prevent the spread of the Covid-19 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