As the whole world has almost come to a standstill due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, a message, along with a picture, is being circulated to claim that doctors have finally found the cure for COVID-19.
The message reads, “Great news! Carona virus vaccine ready. Able to cure patient within 3 hours after injection. Hats off to US Scientists. Right now Trump announced that Roche Medical Company will launch the vaccine next Sunday, and millions of doses are ready from it !!! #Covid_19india #Corona (sic).”
The Quint also received a message to verify the claim on its WhatsApp number.
Now there are three parts to this message:
- Have the doctors found a cure for coronavirus?
- Did Trump announce that Roche Medical will launch the vaccine next Sunday?
- Is the picture of the drug in circulation?
Let’s take a look at all these claims one by one.
1. Cure For Coronavirus
While no cure for the novel coronavirus has been found yet, doctors and researchers are exploring different anti-viral drugs for treatment options.
However, the National Task Force COVID-19 constituted by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday, 23 March, recommended the use of hydroxy-chloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19 for high-risk cases amid increasing cases of coronavirus outbreak in India.
2. Did Trump Announce a Vaccine?
After the White House press briefing on 13 March, a video went viral on social media with a claim that US President Donald Trump has announced that Roche Medical Company will launch a vaccine for coronavirus by Sunday, 22 March.
Contrary to the claim, FDA approved Roche Medical Company’s diagnostic test for COVID-19 and the company has not developed any vaccine for the novel coronavirus.
The claim was debunked by The Quint.
3. Is The Picture of The Drug in Circulation?
No.
The picture does not show the medicine for coronavirus but the diagnosis kit. A Google keyword search using the terms ‘COVID-19 IgM/IgG’ directed us to Ray Biotech website.
The website clearly describes the product as a diagnosis kit used for detection of coronavirus.
We also came across a report by The Guardian which stated that COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test Kit for COVID-19 which can furnish results in 15 minutes.
Hence, an image of COVID-19 diagnosis kit is being shared with a false claim that it is a vaccine developed for the virus.
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