Scientists in the United States have discovered a coronavirus cure “that works 100 percent”.
The article claimed that Sorrento Therapeutics — a biotechnology company — had in its possession a COVID-19 cure., However, on May 15, the California based company clarified it had discovered an antibody that was effective in blocking the virus that causes COVID-19 during early testing in cells. Trials are yet to be conducted in living animals and humans. The announcement said the antibody could potentially be used to develop a drug to treat COVID-19., Sorrento Therapeutics researchers screened and tested billions of antibodies to narrow their coronavirus treatment candidates down to hundreds. They found a dozen that could prevent the viral protein from grabbing onto a key receptor in the body. The virus uses that receptor to enter human cells., The chief executive of Sorrento Therapeutics, Henry Ji, said in an interview on May 18 that the drug will be tested in clinical trials in a few months to see its effectiveness against COVID-19, check its safety for this particular use and determine the proper dosage., Sorrento has only conducted tests in cells. In order to gain the approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US agency responsible for ensuring the safety of drugs among other things, the firm will need to advance trials of the coronavirus treatment to animals. Then, Sorrento will have to apply for FDA permission to test the treatment for safety and effectiveness in humans., Dr. Rollins Makokha, a surgery resident at Kenyatta National Hospital, told PesaCheck that when the human body is invaded by a foreign body like a virus, the immune system responds by creating antibodies, which are proteins that neutralize the invader body. This is happening to people who are fighting SARS-CoV-2 around the world. Research is ongoing to find out if the antibodies produced are specific, adequate and long-lasting., Researchers around the world have been working to develop viable vaccines and treatments for the novel coronavirus that has infected more than five million people worldwide. But experts have said that a vaccine for the virus will not be available for widespread use for at least 12 to 18 months., While patients can and do recover from coronavirus infections, the World Health Organization (WHO) says that there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment and no specific antiviral medicines that are known to work against COVID-19., PesaCheck has looked into the claim that scientists based in the United States have discovered a coronavirus cure ‘that works 100 percent”’ and finds it to be FALSE., This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms., By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds., Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content., This fact-check was written by PesaCheck Researcher Sylvia Makinia and edited by PesaCheck News Editor Enock Nyariki., The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor Eric Mugendi., PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: Code for Africa. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water/sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org., PesaCheck is an initiative of Code for Africa, through its innovateAFRICA fund, with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie, in partnership with a coalition of local media and other civic watchdog organisations in 14 African countries., Written by, Written by
FALSE: Scientists in the US have not discovered a cure for COVID-19