Category: Science and Medicine
A “not antivaccine” antivax pediatrician asks how we will know a COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective
Dr. Liz Mumper is associated with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s antivax organization Children's Health Defense. She recently gave a presentation asking: How will we know that a COVID vaccine is safe? It's a presentation that provides an excellent example of how to identify if someone is antivaccine.
Phage Therapy and Antibiotic Resistance
We are potentially seeing the rebirth of phage therapy for bacterial infections, but we can't skip the science.
Can mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines cause prion disease or Alzheimer’s?
Antivax immunologist J. Bart Classen published a paper claiming that mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines can cause prion disease leading to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's dementia. What are prions, and can these vaccines cause prion disease? (Spoiler alert: The answer to the second question is almost certainly no. It's speculation based on highly implausible biology.)
Science-Based Satire: Portland Compounding Pharmacy Introduces Line of Bespoke Artisinal Parenteral Nutrition
Are compounding pharmacies working with naturopathic integrative functional medicine doctors to make bespoke artisanal IV nutrition that looks like soup in a mason jar? No. Stop it. You know this isn't true. It's satire.
Lipid nanoparticles in COVID-19 vaccines: The new mercury to antivaxxers
When it comes to antivaccine misinformation and the COVID-19 pandemic, everything old is new again, at least if you haven't been paying attention. This time around, it's the resurrection of an old favorite antivaccine trope, the "toxins" gambit. Truly, lipid nanoparticles are the new mercury.
The latest antivax false claim: mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 are not vaccines but “medical devices” or “gene therapy”
There's a new antivaccine talking point in town, and it's just as much disinformation as other antivaccine talking points. It's the claim that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are not really vaccines but "medical devices," "gene therapy," or "experimental biologics" and that they were falsely classified as vaccines in order to bypass safety testing. Here, we discuss why this claim is utter nonsense based...
Shameless self-promotion: Dr. Gorski on the Thinking Critically podcast
Dr. Gorski appeared on the Thinking Critically podcast to discuss the antivaccine movement, COVID-19, medical conspiracy theories, and his journey to skepticism.
Yes, You Can Swaddle Your Baby…But a Sleep Sack is Probably the Safest Option
Taking care of a baby can be scary, and there is a lot of conflicting advice out there. This is especially true when it comes to recommendations on the safety of swaddling. While not completely risk free, swaddling can be done safely and the benefits likely outweigh the risk. But you can always just use a sleep sack.
Conspirituality: Where New Age wellness meets right wing conspiracy thinking
Conspiracy theorists and QAnon may sound miles apart from wellness, yoga and GOOP, but they're converging into "conspirituality", the integration of spirituality and conspiracy theories.
The efforts of antivaxxers to portray COVID-19 vaccines as harmful or even deadly continue apace (VAERS edition)
With the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines continuing apace, so are the efforts of antivaxxers to portray the vaccines as dangerous. This time around, they've resurrected the old antivaccine trick of deceptively misusing the VAERS database to imply causation from VAERS reports. That's not how VAERS works, however.