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An update from FactCheck.org
President Biden gets his fourth dose on March 30. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images.


** Q&A on Second COVID-19 Boosters
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On March 29, the Food and Drug Administration announced it was authorizing a second booster of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for adults 50 years of age and older, four months or more after a previous shot.

But do you need it? What does the research show? What do the experts think? And, if you do want one, when is the best time to get it?

Science Editor Jessica McDonald answers those questions for you in a new Q&A.

Jessica found that there isn’t a lot of data showing a strong benefit, especially for the youngest eligible people. But multiple experts told her that giving doctors the flexibility to offer second boosters is reasonable, even if it’s not clear that the extra doses are needed.

Read her article "Q&A on Second COVID-19 Boosters for Older People ([link removed]) " to learn about the available evidence and what scientists recommend.
HOW WE KNOW
When we fact-check TV ads, we look at the small print at the bottom of the screen that purports to provide the source for the claims in the ad. That's what Deputy Managing Editor Robert Farley did when he reviewed a TV ad that claimed Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is “a self-described democratic socialist.” In this case, the fine print identified the source of the claim as "NPR." No date, no headline. Just "NPR." Rob searched the NPR website and found one story that used the term "self-described democratic socialist." But that story had this correction appended to it: “This story wrongly states that Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is a ‘self-described democratic socialist.’ He is not.” For more, read Rob's story here ([link removed]) .
FEATURED FACT
The risk for cardiac complications including myocarditis, pericarditis and multisystem inflammatory syndrome was “significantly higher” after a SARS-CoV-2 infection than after receiving an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, for both males and females in all age groups, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study published April 1. “Even among males aged 12–17 years, the group with the highest incidence of cardiac complications after receipt of a second mRNA COVID-19 vaccine dose, the risk was 1.8–5.6 times as high after SARS-CoV-2 infection than after vaccination,” the study said. Read more about the topic in our updated article "Benefits of COVID-19 Vaccination Outweigh the Rare Risk of Myocarditis, Even in Young Males ([link removed]) ."
WORTHY OF NOTE
Factchequeado, a new website designed to combat Spanish-language misinformation in the U.S., was unveiled ([link removed]) at the 2022 International Symposium of Online Journalism in Austin on April 1.

We will be one of their partners on the project, meaning our websites will share Spanish-language content. This will allow us to increase the amount of Spanish-language content we have available on our site, while reaching a larger Hispanic audience by having our stories posted to Factchequeado.

Other partners ([link removed]) include Univision's el Detector and PolitiFact. We have had a close working relationship with Univision's el Detector for more than two years, beginning with the 2020 election and more recently throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more about Factchequeado and its co-founders, Clara Jiménez-Cruz of Maldita.es in Spain and Laura Zommer of Chequeado in Argentina, read the Poynter Institute/International Fact-Checking Network article "Factchequeado is putting false narratives from US Latin communities on the mainstream map ([link removed]) ." Factchequeado invites readers to suggest a fact-check at the website’s WhatsApp ([link removed]) .

En español

Factcheqeado, un nuevo medio digital diseñado para combatir la desinformación en español en Estados Unidos, fue lanzado ([link removed]) en el 2022 International Symposium of Online Journalism en Austin el 1 de abril.

FactCheck.org será uno de los aliados del proyecto, lo que quiere decir que nuestros sitios web compartirán contenido en español. Esto nos permitirá aumentar el contenido en español disponible nuestra página y tener un mayor alcance en la audiencia latina publicando nuestros artículos en Factchequeado.

Otros aliados ([link removed]) incluyen El Detector de Univision y PolitiFact. Con El Detector hemos tenido una relación de trabajo cercana por más de dos años, comenzando en 2020 con las elecciones y más recientemente durante la pandemia del coronavirus.

Para más información sobre Factchequeado y sus cofundadoras, Clara Jiménez Cruz de Maldita.es en España y Laura Zommer de Chequeado en Argentina, lea este artículo de Poynter Institute/International Fact-Checking Network: "Factchequeado is putting false narratives from US Latin communities on the mainstream map ([link removed]) ". Y para sugerir verificaciones, los lectores pueden visitar el WhatsApp ([link removed]) de Factchequeado.
REPLY ALL

Reader: The January 6, 2021 attempt at insurrection. How many people attended the rally? How many people broke into the Capitol building? How many people have been charged with any crime?

FactCheck.org Director Eugene Kiely: I’ll answer your questions one at a time.

How Many Died? We wrote about this in November after Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted ([link removed]) that the Capitol riot resulted in “almost 10 dead.” She meant nine people, but Ocasio-Cortez includes four law enforcement officials who responded to the Capitol that day and committed suicide in the days and months afterward and two rally participants who died of heart failure. Another rallygoer was initially believed to have been trampled to death but was later determined to have died of an accidental overdose. We explained what is publicly known about the deaths of the nine people in our article “How Many Died as a Result of Capitol Riot? ([link removed]) ”

How many people attended the rally? The Los Angeles Times writes ([link removed]) , “The crowd size at the rally was at least 10,000 ([link removed]) , according to the Associated Press.”

How many people were charged with a crime? As of Jan. 6, 2022, more than 727 people had been arrested and charged – including “more than 225 defendants who have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, including over 75 individuals who have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer,” according to ([link removed]) the Department of Justice. On Jan. 13, the Justice Department announced ([link removed]) seditious conspiracy charges ([link removed]) against Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, and 10 members of that organization. The Justice Department has an updated, searchable database ([link removed]) of defendants on its website.


** Wrapping Up
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Here's what else we've got for you this week:
* "COVID-19 Data Comparing Vaccinated vs. Unvaccinated Continue to Be Available, Contrary to Viral Posts ([link removed]) ": Weekly rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths by vaccination status are published monthly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on its website. The death data were last posted on March 17, and the hospitalization data on March 31. But a viral tweet claimed the CDC is no longer releasing the information.
* "Strategic Petroleum Reserve Oil Stocks Declined Under Trump, Contrary to His Claim ([link removed]) ": The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve was set up in the 1970s as an emergency source of oil in the event of unexpected supply disruptions. When Donald Trump took office as president in January 2017, the reserve held 695.1 million barrels of crude oil. The last full week before he left office in January 2021, it held 638.1 million barrels, or about 8% less.
* "Clinical Trials Find No Increase in Mortality Among COVID-19 Patients Treated with Remdesivir, Contrary to Viral Claim ([link removed]) ": Remdesivir is the only antiviral medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat COVID-19. But a retired chiropractor misleadingly claims on a viral clip on social media that the drug is “killing people.” Studies have shown that remdesivir can lead to faster recovery times for hospitalized patients.
* "Biden Repeats Misleading Talking Point on Preexisting Conditions ([link removed]) ": In praising the Affordable Care Act, President Joe Biden misleadingly warned of the consequences if Republicans ever repealed the law, saying that would mean “100 million Americans with preexisting conditions can once again be denied health care coverage by their insurance companies.” But those Americans could only be denied coverage on the individual market.
* "League of Conservation Voters ([link removed]) ": A pro-environment nonprofit with an affiliated PAC and super PAC. (For other profiles of special interest groups, see our "Players Guide 2022 ([link removed]) .")

Y lo que publicamos en español ([link removed]) (English versions are accessible in each story):
* "Datos de COVID-19 comparando vacunados y no vacunados sigue estando disponible, al contrario de lo que dicen publicaciones virales ([link removed]) ": Los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC, por sus siglas en inglés) publican las tasas semanales de hospitalización y muertes por COVID-19 según estado de vacunación mensualmente en su página web. Los datos más recientes sobre muertes fueron publicados el 17 de marzo y los de hospitalizaciones el 31 de marzo. Pero un tuit que se hizo viral decía que los CDC ya no publican esos datos.
* "Un video en Facebook tergiversa un informe de los CDC sobre las dosis de refuerzo de la vacuna contra el COVID-19 ([link removed]) ": Según un informe de los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC, por sus siglas en inglés), posibles efectos secundarios de las vacunas de ARNm contra el COVID-19 como dolor de brazo o de cabeza ocurrieron con menor frecuencia tras la dosis de refuerzo que tras la segunda dosis. Sin embargo, un video de una quiropráctica en Facebook tergiversa las conclusiones del informe, los sistemas que registran los eventos adversos y la disponibilidad de información sobre dichos eventos.

Have a question about COVID-19 and the vaccines? Visit our SciCheck page ([link removed]) for answers. It's available in Spanish ([link removed]) , too.
Donate to Support Our Work ([link removed])

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