Andrew Wakefield after 25 years: Paving the way for COVID-19 quacks and antivaxxers
It was 25 years ago yesterday that Andrew Wakefield launched the modern iteration of the antivaccine movement.In doing so, he laid down a template that antivax quacks today still follow.
Brownstone Institute admits that the Great Barrington Declaration was wrong (without actually admitting it was wrong)
The Brownstone Institute's Gabrielle Bauer claims vindication for the Great Barrington Declaration, the October 2020 document that advocated a "natural herd immunity" pandemic strategy, with an ill-defined "focused protection" strategy to protect those most at risk of death. In the fine print, however, Bauer tacitly admits that its core assumption was badly mistaken, minimizing it as not getting all the "details" right.
Vaccines and infant mortality rates: A false relationship promoted by the antivaxxers…again, 12 years later
Since COVID-19, in the antivax world everything old is new again. Even hoary chestnuts of bad science used 12 years ago to falsely claim that vaccines kill babies. That's right, Gary S. Goldman and Neil Z. Miller are back to defend their 2011 "study," and RFK Jr. is flogging it as slam-dunk "evidence" that vaccines kill babies.
Virulent: The Vaccine War – Q&A with Drs. Steven Novella & David Gorski
Dr. Gorski and Dr. Novella join director/editor/producer Tjardus Greidanus, whose documentary Virulent: The Vaccine War examines the rise of the antivaccine movement before and after the pandemic.
COVID-19 is a leading cause of death among children, but that doesn’t stop some of my colleagues from arguing against vaccinating them
Contrary to what the "COVID-19 isn't a threat to children" contingent says, COVID-19 is a leading cause of death among children. Yet "not antivax" doctors continue, either unknowingly or knowingly, recycle old antivax tropes to argue against vaccinating children against this disease.
Tess Lawrie: Ivermectin isn’t just for COVID-19 but cures cancer too!
In a turn that should surprise exactly no one, the BIRD Group's Tess Lawrie effortlessly pivots from promoting ivermectin as a cure for COVID-19 to promoting it as a cure for cancer. It's another example of how single-issue quacks almost inevitably embrace more diverse quackery.
Virulent: The Vaccine War virtual screening
More tidbits from Virulent: The Vaccine War. Have you purchased your virtual ticket to stream it and be part of the Q&A with the filmmakers hosted by Drs. Gorski and Novella on Jan. 29?
Announcing a virtual screening and Q&A for Virulent: The Vaccine War.
SBM has teamed with director/producer Tjardus Greidanus and producer Laura Davis to host a virtual screening of their documentary Virulent: The Vaccine War, followed by a virtual Q&A. We also all thought it appropriate to dedicate the showing of this excellent documentary about vaccine hesitancy and the antivaccine movement to our recently departed colleague, Dr. Harriet Hall.
When antivax “died suddenly” conspiracy mongering vultures target a friend and colleague
After SBM suffered the unexpected loss of our co-founder Dr. Harriet Hall last week, we were angered and distressed to see antivaxxers saying that she had "died suddenly" because of COVID-19 vaccines. This dangerous narrative is even more painful when it targets a friend. Dr. Gorski tries to get past his initial anger and explain this dangerous conspiracy theory.
We are saddened to announce that The SkepDoc Dr. Harriet Hall has passed away
We at SBM are greatly saddened to announce that co-founder Dr. Harriet Hall passed away unexpectedly last night.