Month: March 2022
Ivermectin: The acupuncture of COVID-19 treatments
As high-quality evidence increasingly and resoundingly shows that ivermectin does not work against COVID-19, advocates are doing what acupuncture advocates do: Turning to lower quality "positive" studies to claim incorrectly that their favorite ineffective treatment actually does "work".
The CDC Goofs and Doctors React
After a CDC goof, several doctors - including me - shared incorrect information. What happened next was revealing.
Science-Based Satire: Chiropractors…in Space?
Did the United States government recently appoint a new chief to helm a division of space chiropractic? In space can anyone hear your spine crack? No, space is a vacuum and sound can't be produced without vibrating air. Also, this is satire.
“This Would Translate to About 10,000 Deaths” Reflections From the Start of the Pandemic
“This would translate to about 10,000 deaths” Two years ago, Dr. John Ioannidis wrote an essay in STAT titled “A Fiasco in The Making? As The Coronavirus Pandemic Takes Hold, We Are Making Decisions Without Reliable Data.” It contained the following paragraph: If we assume that case fatality rate among individuals infected by SARS-CoV-2 is 0.3% in the general population — a...
Socks to Treat High Blood Pressure?
Socks that lower blood pressure? The claims for Boliav socks are too incoherent to make sense of. I can't take them seriously.
Old antivax tropes never die: “COVID theater,” “Urgency of Normal,” and the Great Barrington Declaration
Last week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held a roundtable calling to "end COVID-19 theater" that brought together the Great Barrington Declaration and "Urgency of Normal," a movement to end mask mandates and other COVID-19 mitigations in schools. The arguments used long predate the pandemic and echo a dark side of the history of American medicine.
The Consequences of a Medical Myth
There are real-world consequences to medical myths spread by contrarian doctors sheltered from the consequences of their words.
Through The Looking Glass With Dr. Jay Bhattacharya
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and Humpty Dumpty agree, words have no meaning.
Good faith doctoring or greedy drug dealing? SCOTUS hears opioid prescribing cases
Physicians running opioid "pill mills" were convicted of violating the Controlled Substances Act and given substantial prison sentences. The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide whether they were entitled to a "good faith" defense at trial.
New Study – mRNA Vaccines Safe
After more than 298 million doses give, the side effects of the mRNA vaccines are minimal and transient.