False death figures go viral
An Instagram post claims the Covid-19 death toll up to week 47 of 2020 is 30,000 lower than it actually is. Read
Fact checks
Abbas Panjwani
Fact Checker (former)
Abbas joined Full Fact in 2018. Before this, he worked as a social researcher, collecting quantitative and qualitative research to help inform policy development and evaluation for government departments and other public bodies. Most recently he worked as research manager at Ofgem, Great Britain’s energy regulator, and has also worked on projects for BIS, the Home Office and the Competition and Markets Authority.
Health
ONS death figures not averaged correctly
Deaths in December 2020 appeared far lower than the previous five-year average. That was because the ‘five-year average’ had not been averaged. Read
Fact checks
Health
Pfizer vaccine effective, though not as effective as newspapers suggest
Just 0.04% of Israelis who received the Covid-19 vaccination later caught the disease, but this doesn’t mean the vaccine is 99.96% effective. Read
Fact checks
HS2 will not cost Scotland £17 billion
In effect, all money spent by Scotland on HS2 is returned through the Barnett formula. Read
Fact checks
Flu deaths aren’t being miscategorised as Covid-19 deaths
There are good reasons why the flu season is genuinely mild this year, including record vaccination rates and improved hygiene. Read
Fact checks
Health
Report of 8% vaccine efficacy for elderly is unreliable
A report in German newspaper Handelsblatt claimed that the AstraZeneca vaccine was only 8% effective among over 65s. Read
Fact checks
Health
There isn’t pork in Covid-19 vaccines
There is also no reason to believe the vaccine will impact male fertility as claimed. It may actually help protect it. Read
Fact checks
Death rate back to early 2000s levels
The death rate fell considerably over the past two decades, as life expectancy improved. 2020 saw these improvements reversed. Read
Fact checks
Health
73,444 deaths registered in 2020 in England and Wales had Covid-19 as the underlying cause
In 2020, 73,444 deaths were registered in England and Wales with Covid-19 as the underlying cause. Read
Fact checks
Economy, Business & Finance
Clearing up some of the confusion over free school meals
Schools are required to provide lunches to eligible pupils either directly or using vouchers. Read
Analysis
