Health
NHS Covid tracing app did not cost £37bn
Multiple Facebook posts have claimed that £37 billion was spent on the NHS Test and Trace app when it actually cost about £35 million in 2020/21. Read
Fact checks
Health
Get clear and trusted health facts. We explain symptoms, treatments, and health advice in simple language you can understand.
Health
The Lancet did not report 6.5 million migrants registered at GPs in the last decade
A Facebook post appears to have repeated an old claim that the Lancet medical journal said 6.5 million migrants had registered with GPs in the last 10 years. Read
Fact checks
Health
Sadiq Khan did not have a ‘minor cardiac arrest’ at climate conference
The Mayor of London’s new book recounts a health scare in 2021 which may have been a heart attack. Some reports mistakenly called this a cardiac arrest, which is a different condition. Read
Fact checks
Health
Spain’s High Court didn’t call Covid-19 a ‘bioweapon’
A document released by the Health Ministry in 2021 said that it did not have its own culture of the virus. This was misinterpreted in a blog and on social media. Read
Fact checks
Health
Sunglasses don’t cause sunburn
A social media post claims that sunglasses prevent melanin production, increasing the risk of sunburn. This is an incorrect description of the process of tanning. Read
Fact checks
Health
False claims about cancer causing chemical in sunscreen
A social media post claims that most sunscreens contain benzene, a chemical linked to cancer. It isn’t used as an ingredient, and the data on contamination doesn’t support these claims. Read
Fact checks
Health
Chelsea Clinton did not say children should be force-jabbed
Posts on social media are attributing a false quote to Chelsea Clinton. She did not say that children in the USA should be forcibly vaccinated. Read
Fact checks
Health
Can pharmacists prescribe medicines?
The Pharmacy First service will mean people in England can get NHS prescription medicines for some conditions from a community pharmacy without seeing a GP. But some pharmacists can prescribe already. Read
Analysis
Health
The suicide rate may not have been rising in recent years
Sir Keir Starmer claimed the suicide rate is “going up”, based on a rise since 2007. But data for the last few years gives a mixed picture. Read
Fact checks
Health
Would a 35% pay uplift for junior doctors cost £1 billion or £2 billion?
A Labour MP quoted BMA figures claiming junior doctor “pay restoration” would cost £1 billion, but the health secretary said it would cost £2 billion. Read
Fact checks
