FALSE: Coronavirus vaccine ready, can cure within 3 hours

Claim: A new vaccine that can cure COVID-19 patients in 3 hours is now ready.

Facebook user Kit Salazar Cervantes shared a photo that said: “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!!!”

The post also had an image of what looked like a medical product labeled “COVID-19 lgM/lgG.”

Cervantes posted the photo on Monday, March 23, and captioned it, “Sabi na nga ba eh! (I knew it!)”

Facebook’s monitoring tool, Claim Check, flagged the post for fact checkers to verify. The post had over 1,300 shares, 209 reactions, and 127 comments as of writing.

Rating: FALSE

The facts: As of March 27, there is still no vaccine or drug approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) or any Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the world to cure or prevent COVID-19. Moreover, the image used in the post is not a photo of vaccines from Roche Medical Company, but is a photo of rapid test kits from South Korean company Sugentech.

WHO, the Department of Health (DOH), and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) all say there is no vaccine or cure for the disease yet. (READ: What you need to know: Coronavirus cures, vaccines being tested)

Indian fact checker India Today, a verified signatory to the International Fact Checking Network, also debunked the claim that US President Donald Trump had announced a coronavirus vaccine from Roche Medical Company would be distributed “next Sunday.” It explained that the company was given emergency approval for coronavirus tests, not the vaccine.

There are efforts from scientists all over the world to develop treatments and vaccines for the virus. However, experts say they won’t be released anytime soon. (READ: Coronavirus drugs: Who’s doing what, and when they might come)

Rappler and other fact check organizations from around the world have already checked thousands of claims regarding vaccines, cures, and other information related to the coronavirus and the COVID-19 outbreak. Avoid sharing false information by checking against official and reliable sources. (LIST: Where to get official, reliable info on novel coronavirus) – Pauline Macaraeg/Rappler.com

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time

More fact checks on COVID-19:

• PARTLY FALSE: U.S. FDA ‘approves’ hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 treatment
• FALSE: Vaccine available, ‘no more coronavirus death’
• FALSE: Gargling salt water ‘eliminates’ coronavirus
• FALSE: Video saying bananas ‘prevent coronavirus’
• FALSE: Alcoholic drinks ‘reduce coronavirus risk’
• FALSE: Cannabis ‘kills coronavirus’
• FALSE: Natural ginger ale a ‘cure for coronavirus’