COVID-19 still stands for coronavirus disease 2019

For months, misinformation about the novel coronavirus and vaccines has spread on social media — including about the meaning of the name assigned to the disease caused by the virus: COVID-19. 

Back in March, we debunked a claim that it "literally stands for Chinese Originated Viral Infectious Disease."

Now, a new Facebook post claims that COVID-19 means: "Certificate of identification of vaccination with artificial intelligence."

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) 

The post is wrong. 

The 2019 novel coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan, China, on Dec. 31, 2019. 

On Feb. 11, the World Health Organization announced that the name for the disease would be COVID-19 and the complete official name for the virus that causes the disease would be "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2" or "SARS-CoV-2." 

Until that point, the virus and the infection had been referred to as the "2019 novel coronavirus" or "2019-nCoV."

Featured Fact-check

Facebook posts

stated on January 22, 2020 in a Facebook post

Says a coronavirus patent expired just as there is a "sudden outbreak" and, despite "media fear-mongering," there is already a vaccine available.

"Having a name matters to prevent the use of other names that can be inaccurate or stigmatizing," tweeted Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO.

COVID-19 is an abbreviation of "coronavirus disease 2019," the CDC says. "CO" stands for "corona," "VI" stands for "virus" and "D" stands for "disease." 

The number 19 reflects the year it was identified — 2019.

We rate this Facebook post Pants on Fire.