Category: Public Health
“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.
“Depopulation” by COVID-19 vaccines?
COVID-19 and antivaccine conspiracy theorists like Joe Mercola, Michael Yeadon, and Peter McCullough are spreading the conspiracy theory that COVID-19 vaccines are intended as a tool for "global depopulation". This is nothing more than an old antivaccine conspiracy theory repurposed for the pandemic. As ridiculous as it might seem, it is nonetheless very appealing to antivaxxers.
“COVID-19 vaccines are going to sterilize our womenfolk,” Take 2
Antivaxxers have long claimed that vaccines, particularly HPV vaccines, can damage the ovaries and cause female infertility. That claim has been resurrected for COVID-19 vaccines. The first example relied on a dubious "similarity" between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and a placental protein. This time, it's the lipid nanoparticles attacking the ovaries, echoing very old claims about polysorbate-80. Truly, everything old is new...
The origin of SARS-CoV-2, revisited
Since early in the pandemic, scientists have overwhelmingly concluded that evidence points to a natural origin for SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, as a far more likely explanation for the pandemic than a laboratory origin. In May, however, there has been a lot of media chatter about the "lab leak" hypothesis, and President Biden even ordered US intelligence agencies to look...
COVID Morbidity
The emerging burden of long COVID is significant, and needs to be considered when evaluating the risk vs benefit of pandemic measures.
The “deadly” coronavirus spike protein (according to antivaxxers)
Antivaxxers are citing three papers to support their claim that spike protein produced by COVID-19 vaccines is dangerous. Unsurprisingly and as usual, they're misinterpreting the studies and misrepresenting their significance. COVID-19 vaccines are, in fact, very safe.
The Causes of Vaccine Hesitancy
The vaccine hesitant are now the front lines of the battle to contain COVID.
How antimaskers weaponize techniques of scientific analysis to attack mask mandates
There's a new paper out analyzing how antimask activists weaponize the tools of data visualization and scientific argumentation to produce convincing antimask propaganda. Antimaskers are claiming that it shows that they are more "scientific" than those supporting the consensus viewpoint with respect to COVID-19 and masks. What it really shows is that they are good at weaponizing the tools of data visualization...
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.
The COVID-19 “Vaccine Holocaust”: The latest antivaccine messaging
The latest antivaccine disinformation consists of pointing to the large numbers of reports of death (and other adverse events) to the VAERS database. It's nonsense.