Vox did not accurately relay what experts were saying at the time; WHO had declared a global emergency in late January 2020, weeks before the Recode handshake piece.

Judged as of 2020-03-29. The claim has two parts: (a) Vox/Recode's early-2020 coverage (the "handshake" piece) did not accurately relay what experts were saying at the time; (b) WHO had declared a global emergency (a PHEIC) in late January 2020, weeks before that piece was published. True if WHO declared a PHEIC in late January 2020 (expected around 30 January), the Recode piece was published weeks later, and its framing contradicted or understated what health experts and authorities were saying when it was published. Mostly true if both parts hold with a minor date slip. Mixed if the WHO timing is correct but the evidence shows the piece largely reflected mainstream expert or official guidance at its publication date, for example that the risk to the US public was low at the time. Mixed also applies if the reverse holds. Mostly false if the WHO fact is right but the charge of inaccuracy rests mostly on hindsight. False if the WHO declaration did not happen in late January, or the piece came before it, and the coverage matched expert statements.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Statement on the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) World Health Organization · 30 January 2020

   “The second meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the WHO Director-General under the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus 2019 in the People’s Republic of China, with exportations to other countries, took place on Thursday, 30 January 2020, from 13:30 to 18:35 Geneva time (CEST).”

2. E2 Statement on the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) World Health Organization · 30 January 2020

   “The Director-General declared that the outbreak of 2019-nCoV constitutes a PHEIC and accepted the Committee’s advice and issued this advice as Temporary Recommendations under the IHR.”

3. E3 Stop sharing myths about preventing the coronavirus. Here are 4 real ways to protect yourself PolitiFact · 5 March 2020

   “For the American public, the immediate risk of coronavirus remains relatively low.”

4. E4 COVID-19: Distance, time, handshakes, 12 March 2020 UK Government (SAGE paper prepared by NERVTAG) · 12 March 2020

   “There is no evidence that avoiding handshakes reduces the risk of infection but on first principles it may result in a minor reduction in risk.”

5. E5 Statement on the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) World Health Organization · 30 January 2020

   “The Director-General declared that the outbreak of 2019-nCoV constitutes a PHEIC and accepted the Committee’s advice and issued this advice as Temporary Recommendations under the IHR.”

6. E6 Statement on the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) World Health Organization · 30 January 2020

   “The second meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the WHO Director-General under the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus 2019 in the People’s Republic of China, with exportations to other countries, took place on Thursday, 30 January 2020”

7. E7 Listings of WHO's response to COVID-19 World Health Organization · 29 June 2020

   “The EC advised the Director-General that the outbreak now met the criteria for a PHEIC. The Director-General accepted the EC’s advice and declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a PHEIC.”

8. E8 “No handshakes, please”: The tech industry is terrified of the coronavirus Recode (Vox Media) · 13 February 2020

   “Public health officials in the area have said there’s currently a low risk to public health; the cases, they say, have been contained to those who have recently traveled to Wuhan and their direct family members.”

The timing part holds. WHO records that the Director-General declared the 2019-nCoV outbreak a PHEIC after the Emergency Committee met on 30 January 2020 (E1, E2, E7), and the Recode "No handshakes" piece came out two weeks later, on 13 February 2020 (E8). The inaccuracy part is not supported. The piece passed on local public health officials' view that the risk to the public was low at that point (E8). That matches what others were still saying weeks later: PolitiFact on 5 March said the immediate risk to the American public remained relatively low (E3), and a UK NERVTAG paper on 12 March found no evidence that avoiding handshakes reduces infection risk, though on first principles it may result in a minor reduction (E4). Under the criteria, correct WHO timing combined with a piece that largely reflected mainstream official guidance is "mixed".