Month: August 2021

Avemar: Wheat Germ for Cancer

Avemar is fermented wheat germ. It is claimed to be an effective addition to conventional cancer treatment. The evidence is lacking.

/ August 31, 2021
Comirnaty

Yes, the FDA really HAS given full approval to the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

After the FDA announcement a week ago that Comirnaty, the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, had been approved, it took less than a day for antivaxxers to spin a conspiracy theory claiming that the FDA hadn't really approved the Pfizer vaccine at all and that Comirnaty wasn't available, all to protect Pfizer from liability. It's a superficially plausible conspiracy...

/ August 30, 2021

Reader Beware

Certain doctors may not be anti-vaccine, but they need to be fact-checked as if they are.

/ August 27, 2021

School mask mandate wars: Politics (Florida) v. Science (North Carolina)

Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, dictated a state-wide ban on school mask mandates based on misinformation and pure politics, while North Carolina officials took a bipartisan approach to masking based on science.

/ August 26, 2021

Vaccines Vaccines and more Vaccines

COVID vaccines are dominating the health news, and with good reason.

/ August 25, 2021

“I Don’t Know What’s in It”

Is not knowing what's in a vaccine a valid reason to refuse it?

/ August 24, 2021
Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB)

The Federation of State Medical Boards vs. COVID-19 misinformation: A losing battle so far

A few weeks ago, the Federation of State Medical Boards, which itself does not have any regulatory power but advocates for state medical boards, issued a statement that physicians who spread COVID-19 misinformation should be subject to disciplinary measures. Unfortunately, a recent report found that not a single US physician has had action taken against their medical license for doing this. Why?

/ August 23, 2021

The Frenetic Frenum Freeing Frenzy

What problems do tongue-ties cause? Do all of them need to be clipped?

/ August 20, 2021

Philippines Approves Golden Rice

Golden rice passes the final regulatory hurdle in the Philippines. Farming can now start planting.

/ August 18, 2021

Are Muscle Relaxants an Effective Adjunct for Treating Acute Low Back Pain? Yes and No

The journal American Family Physician left me confused about adding muscle relaxants to analgesics for acute low back pain. One article says it isn't effective, but another article in the same issue says it is.

/ August 17, 2021