Health
There were not 65,000 flu deaths in the winter of 2017/18
We’re not sure where this number comes from, but official estimates suggest it’s more than double the true figure. Read
Fact checks
Covid-19 fact checks
This page brings together Full Fact’s fact checks on Covid-19, covering common claims, vaccine safety and efficacy, symptoms, treatments, government policies, and misinformation. We review evidence, correct errors, and monitor evolving science to help you make informed decisions.
Health
GB News presenter wrong about booster vaccine deaths
Mark Steyn claimed during his programme that booster vaccines were ineffective and wrongly suggested they increased the chance of hospitalisation and death. Read
Fact checks
Health
Number of death certificates with only Covid-19 is a bad estimate of the death toll
To the end of 2021, over 150,000 deaths in the UK had been registered with Covid-19 as the underlying cause. Read
Fact checks
Health
GB News interview features misleading claims about Covid-19 and vaccines
Mark Steyn and Dr Guy Hatchard made a number of misleading claims about unreviewed studies, excess deaths and underlying risk factors. Read
Fact checks
Dr Anthony Fauci has not been arrested by Special Forces
This is a complete fabrication. Dr Fauci has appeared in public since the claim was made. Read
Fact checks
Covid Inquiry’s Terms of Reference-Full Fact's response
The UK’s Covid-19 Inquiry has been established to examine the preparedness and response to the pandemic and to learn lessons for the future. Here are Full Fact's views. Read
Comment
Health
Boots isn’t selling lateral flow tests ‘the taxpayer has already paid for’
It’s been falsely claimed on social media that the retailer has been ‘given’ taxpayer funded Covid-19 tests to sell back to the public. Read
Fact checks
Health
The UK’s Covid ‘survival rate’ is lower than 99.972%
Roughly 99.76% of the population of the UK have not died with Covid as the underlying cause, which is another way of saying that about 0.24% have. Read
Fact checks
Health
Mirror wrong to say catching Covid in warm weather cuts risk of long Covid
Surveys on the prevalence of long Covid did not measure the difference between groups of people based on when they caught Covid in the first place, nor necessarily based on when they experienced long Read
Fact checks
Health
No evidence for MP’s claims ‘tens of thousands of people’ have ‘suffered severe damage’ from vaccines
Conservative MP Sir Christopher Chope made the claim about Covid-19 vaccines during an interview with GB News. Read
Fact checks
