Category: Epidemiology
Peer review of a VAERS dumpster dive
A new preprint study on COVID vaccine myocarditis dives into the VAERS dumpster with predictable and embarrassing results.
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.
“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?
We are not “losing the war on cancer” (belated 2021 edition)
The narrative we hear time and time again is that we are "losing the war on cancer". The latest cancer statistics show that this narrative is not true.
COVID-19 is Deadlier Than the Flu for Children
While COVID-19 killed 500 children over the past year, the flu killed just one.
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.
“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.
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.
Deaths and Excess Deaths in Brazil
By misinterpreting excess mortality statistics, Nobel Laureate Michael Levitt minimizes the significance of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil (and also America).
What the heck happened to John Ioannidis?
John Ioannidis is one of the most published and influential scientists in the world, someone whose skewering of bad medical research we at SBM have frequently lauded over the years. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Since then, Prof. Ioannidis has been publishing dubious studies that minimize the dangers of the coronavirus, shown up in the media to decry "lockdowns," and, most recently,...