It proclaims “prophetic stickers” and brain damaged tests, although this is not true.

“I knew from the first minute that it was not a pandemic, because the memories of history show that all the brilliant decisions in the world are made based on pandemics, wars or all kinds of other” marasmas “, said the long post in the social network.

In less than a day, the record was shared by more than 1.1 thousand. Facebook users, and its great popularity was determined by readers’ belief that the text was written by a long-time embryologist and pioneer in the practice of artificial insemination in Lithuania.

However, the Facebook profile that published the post raises suspicions: there is no personal information, the last name used in professional life and Facebook does not match, until other public posts were made on the profile before the misleading post appeared.

15 minutes Tried contacting the author of the post and her workplaces, but so far no response has been received. Therefore, we cannot be absolutely sure that the author of the post is actually the person he pretends to be.

The prophetic purchase

The author begins the story with a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. V&A Museum), for art and design exhibitions.

After visiting the Cars exhibition, the author of the recording was amazed by the highlights of the science fiction exhibition.

“Coming out of the show, it was even more interesting … I sold the ‘keep your distance’ badges; at that moment the funny badge appeared, I think I’m buying, it will look good on me because I don’t like people getting on” on the heels “in a hurry in the checkout of the store, but as we can see now, that was not the essence of that badge,” says the social network.

It is true that during a pandemic, the term ‘keep your distance’ is associated with the requirement to maintain a safe distance between people to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The alerts with this text are in the streets of the city, in the supermarkets.

However, the same term is used to regulate road traffic. In addition, a sign of the same design with the word “keep your distance” is found on UK roads, warning drivers to keep a safe distance.

The sign can be found on page 87 of the UK traffic regulations.

Unexpected standards?

The author of the publication published in the book is outraged that the COVID-19 tests are under investigation. An attempt is made to substantiate the claim with respect to the international quality standard “ISO 15189”. When reading the text, it is easy to get the impression that the mentioned quality standard affects the quality of the test results.

However “ISO 15189” is Intlpractices established by the Autonomous Organization for Standardization, describing the quality management method used in medical laboratories. In other words, laboratories based on this standard must operate with the same quality throughout the world.

The best management practice standard has little in common with COVID-19 test results or the tests themselves, as tests and medical labs have different requirements.

According to the Ministry of Health (SAM), the main requirements for SARS-CoV-2 molecular reagents are their suitability for use. in vitro for diagnostic tests of human body samples, the CE marking, which indicates that the product is presumed to comply with the EU safety, health and environmental protection requirements.

This requires the test to identify 2-3 target genes and the sensitivity and specificity of the test to be at least 95%. The COVID-19 tests used in Lithuania meet all these criteria.

“In Lithuania safe and standardized tests are used, during which a sample is taken from the nasopharynx,” says SAM’s response. 15 minutes.

Unfortunate faith in textbooks

In the post, the author asks why the COVID-19 test is performed by intervention in the human body. This is a fairly common question, so finding an answer online is not difficult.

For example, Professor of Laboratory Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Infectious Disease Specialist, Doctor of Pharmacology and Toxicology Micah M. Bhattis states that a smear is taken from the nasopharynx for greater precision.

“The efficacy of saliva and other types of smears is being studied, and the preliminary data looks promising. However, we are still awaiting more detailed studies to confirm the effectiveness of these methods, ”says MMBhattis.

More surprisingly, the author of the post claims that getting a nasal swab can harm the human brain. This is not true, and this type of misleading information has been circulating on social media for months.

The accusation was verified by the AP news agency, AFP and “Reuters” fact checkers, British BBC, U.S “USA Today” and “Scientific Comments” journalists.

The assessment is consistent: the COVID-19 study should not damage the barrier between the nasopharynx and the brain. This is avoided by a barrier created by nature: the porous plane, which is made up of bone tissue. This means that the skull would need to be almost pierced to reach the brain.

A person who commented on the distributed article tried to mention it and received a somewhat unexpected response, supposedly scientific: “I respect you for your faith everything what’s in textbooks and books! “

Nanoparticle Warning

The entry continues with a warning that COVID-19 testing uses nanoparticles that can contaminate the human body. Specifically, a sterile cotton swab is inserted into the nasopharynx.

“It is no longer a secret that nanoparticles are used in the production of ‘rods’ that are used for these tests. <...> Nanoparticles can be programmed, controlled, manipulated with them ”, says the author of the post.

“Nanoparticles” are particles with a size ranging from 1 to 100 nanometers. It is not necessarily a term used in healthcare to describe an object that is essentially extremely small.

Information has emerged on the use of nanoparticles in COVID-19 testing in May. Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine said they had developed a method that they said would allow rapid and accurate coronavirus testing.

The test would use gold nanoparticles, but they would be in the fluid in the tube, not in the nasopharynx. According to the researchers, the nanoparticles would mix with the liquid and a sample taken from the nasopharynx would change the color of the liquid if the sample were positive.

Reliable sources have been unable to find information on the means used in tests to intentionally add nanoparticles to the human body for years.

Alien problems

One of the highlights of the post is the author’s hostility towards regular testing of medical personnel for COVID-19. Some of the Facebook users who commented on the post attributed the situation to Lithuania, although the author’s outrage was directed at her workplace in the UK.

UK National Health Service (NHS) encourages voluntary testing of health care workers weeklyto prevent the spread of disease in hospitals and laboratories.

According to the author of the post, the management of the laboratory creates a situation in which volunteering does not remain and the practice becomes mandatory. To clarify the situation, we tried to contact the hospital where the alleged author of the record works, but so far we have not received a response.

15 minutes evaluation, the Facebook log contains misleading and partially misleading information. A traffic sign sticker bought from a museum is far from being a planned pandemic, COVID-19 tests do not harm the brain, and “controlled nanoparticles” are not used in parts of the test that enter the human body.

Reliable sources

Representatives of the information space monitoring institutions and SAM advise not to use social networks as the only source of information and to be especially skeptical about any information published in the comments.

It encourages the selection of data from official institutions, reliable media and the monitoring of the origin of the information. The onset of the coronavirus pandemic has sparked a wave of misleading information, sometimes deliberately promoted by foreign countries.

Official information on COVID-19 is provided by Ministry of Health (SAM), Center for Communicable Diseases and AIDS (ULAC), World Health Organization (WHO), National Center for Public Health, European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

The post was prepared in 15 minutes. in collaboration with Facebook a program to stop the spread of misleading news on the social network. More about the program and its rules – here.