Seven popular but mistaken ideas about the pandemic
1- A positive PCR test corresponds to an active infection by the virus In fact a positive PCR test can only confirm the presence of part of the virus, it…
Sete ideias populares, mas erradas sobre a pandemia
1- Um teste positivo por PCR corresponde a uma infeção ativa pelo vírus Na realidade um teste PCR positivo pode apenas confirmar a presença de parte do vírus, não consegue…
New variant: cause for concern or exaggerated alarmism?
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reported that a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in England, possibly up to 70% more transmissible than the previous one. This news was…
Censorship in times of pandemic
The limitation of freedom of expression in terms of a pandemic merits particular reflection as it goes far beyond ideological motivations. The main social networks and much of the media…
WHO declares high risk of false positives in RT-PCR tests
In a notification for the correct use of RT-PCR tests for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the WHO warns of a high risk of false positives. “Description of the…
Nova variante: motivo de preocupação ou alarmismo exagerado?
O primeiro-ministro britânico, Boris Johnson, fez saber que foi detetada em Inglaterra uma nova variante do SARS-CoV-2, possivelmente até 70% mais transmissível que a anterior. Esta notícia foi confirmada pelo…
OMS declara existir risco elevado de falsos-positivos nos testes RT-PCR
Numa notificação para o uso correto dos testes RT-PCR para a deteção do vírus SARS-CoV-2, a OMS alerta para o risco elevado de falsos positivos. “Descrição do problema: A OMS…
Freedom of expression and new forms of censorship
The truth, when it exists in absolute terms, rarely corresponds to the most popular view, of a group or, even, of a single person. Reality is too complex and difficult…
What is a Covid 19 death?
We constantly hear in the news phrases like "Covid has already killed X number of people in a given country" or "X number of people have died due to the…
A brief overview of the pandemic
On 3 March this year the WHO revealed the characteristics of this new virus detected in China. It would have a lethality rate of 3.4% which was the result of…
The two paradigms for tackling the pandemic
Despite the various perspectives on the response to this pandemic, there are two prevailing currents within the scientific community. Especially now that some evidence is more consolidated, these two fields…
Fight against Covid divides scientists: what the two ideological groups advocate
Although there are multiple views on the pandemic, two substantially different models share the preference of most researchers, policy makers and the general population. In this table, we summarize these…
