Category: Politics and Regulation
About those “19 errors,” part one
Journalist Jesse Singal took issue with Dr. Rose Lovell and Dr. AJ Eckert's guest posts about Abigail Shrier's book on transgender teens, Dr. Harriet Hall's review of the book, and the medical care of these teens, claiming that the posts contained "19 errors." In this post, Dr. Lovell responds to her share of these "19 errors," most of which are not errors.
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...
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.
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?
Near-fatal blood infection following naturopathic IV vitamin infusion
A patient nearly died from a blood infection after a compounded naturopathic vitamin infusion. IV vitamin infusions are a common naturopathic therapy used without adequate medical rationale and are not worth the risks.
Court overturns FDA ban on electric shock device used on special needs students
An FDA ban on using electric shock devices to control behavior in special needs students, a method deemed "torture" in a U.N. report, was overturned in a flawed court decision. The FDA should appeal.
Ivermectin is the new hydroxychloroquine, take 3: Conspiracy theories vs. science
Last month, I discussed why ivermectin is the new hydroxychloroquine:, basically a “miracle cure” that isn’t. Since then, conspiracy theories about its being "suppressed" have continued to bump heads with the science showing that, at the very best, evidence for its efficacy is very weak and, at the worst, the drug is useless.
Sen. Rubio’s proposed tax shelters for quackery
Sen. Marco Rubio has again introduced a bill that would subsidize quackery by providing a tax-sheltered way to pay for homeopathy, herbs, and other pseudoscience.
NCCIH Strategic Plan 2021–2025: Meet the new plan, same as the old plan…?
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health recently released its latest 5 year strategic plan. It's basically the same as the last strategic plan, but with one new addition. It's not really a new addition, but it signals a resurrection of an old trope about "integrating" quackery with science-based medicine.
Irreversible Damage to the Trans Community: A Critical Review of Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters (Part Two)
Part 2 of the review of Abigail Shrier's "Irreversible Damage" provides insight into her harmful beliefs about trans youth, along with evidence-based counterarguments.