All posts by Jonathan Howard

Dr. Jonathan Howard is a neurologist and psychiatrist who has been interested in vaccines since long before COVID-19. He is the author of "We Want Them Infected: How the failed quest for herd immunity led doctors to embrace the anti-vaccine movement and blinded Americans to the threat of COVID."

The CDC Should Do Better

The CDC's failure to report clear and accurate data about how COVID-19 is affecting children has opened the door to those who wish to minimize its impact by spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt. The CDC needs to do better.

/ August 5, 2021

Cognitive Illusions and How Not to Write About COVID-19 and Children

Many people minimize the deaths and damage COVID-19 has wrought on children because it is "worse in adults". While it is true that more adults suffer due to the disease, that does not make the harms done to children vanish in a puff of smoke.

/ July 30, 2021

“We’ll Have Herd Immunity by April”: Reflections on a Failed Prediction

Surgical oncologist Dr. Marty Makary predicted in February that we would have herd immunity to COVID-19 in April. In late July now, it is clear that we do not, but Dr. Makary continues to make dubious and outright incorrect statements about COVID-19 on national platforms to which he has access. Why can't he just admit that his prediction had been in error?

/ July 25, 2021

COVID-19 is Deadlier Than the Flu for Children

While COVID-19 killed 500 children over the past year, the flu killed just one.

/ July 16, 2021

Myocarditis and COVID-19: A Tale of Two Articles

Whether myocarditis is serious or not depends on the symptoms it produces and the damages it does, not on its underlying cause. Those who write about COVID-19 and vaccines should try to be consistent and thorough.

/ July 11, 2021

COVID-19 and balancing the risks:  The vaccine or the virus

Given recent reports of myocarditis after vaccination with mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines in young people, we think it's a good time to reexamine the risk/benefit ratio of these vaccines in this population.

/ June 30, 2021

“What Exactly Did the Virus do to All These People?” Reflections on Ted Nugent, Mel Q, Kelly Brogan, and John Ioannidis

The notion that many people are dying with SARS-CoV-2 not from SARS-CoV-2 has hindered our ability to contain to the virus. Whether the source is QAnon influencers or a highly credentialed scientists, we must push back on narratives that are used to minimize the danger of COVID-19.

/ June 18, 2021

Are COVID-19 Hospitalizations for Children Inflated?

Some recent articles portray children as relatively safe from the harms of COVID-19. Taking a critical look at the numbers and arguments, I see things a different way.

/ June 4, 2021
Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

Should COVID-19 vaccines be administered to children under an emergency use authorization?

Recently, Wesley Pegden, Vinay Prasad, and Stefan Baral argued in The BMJ that "COVID-19 vaccines for children should not get emergency use authorization". Their argument is lacking, and they left out a number of relevant facts.

/ May 10, 2021