Japan Fact-Checks, July 31: No COVID-19 Cure Yet

Fact-Checks at a Glance

We picked up the following fact-check relating to Japan from overseas media.

False: Dallas MD Insists that “There Is Already a Cure for COVID-19” (United States; fact-checked by Lead Stories on July 27, 2020)

Explanation: A Dallas-based medical doctor claimed that a cure for COVID-19 already exists, based on relatively low numbers of deaths in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, and Iceland. He claimed that the effective drug is one used for asthma. While it is true that these countries have lower numbers of deaths, at least compared to the United States, the number of confirmed cases is also relatively low, and the mortality rate of infected people in these countries is not much different than in the United States. There is also no evidence of broad use in these countries of budesonide, the drug in question. Therefore, this is not evidence that a cure exists. Read the full article here (English).

Announcements and News

• Check out the IFCN’s #CoronaVirusFacts Alliance database of over 5,000 fact-checks from more than 70 countries on the novel coronavirus. Other themes subject to fact-checking can be found on each organization’s website.
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(Originally published in English by FactCheck Initiative Japan; edited by Nippon.com.)