Category: Vaccines
Update on AstraZeneca Vaccine and Blood Clots
A link between the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and a rare type of blood clots is now more likely, but the benefits of vaccination still outweigh the risks.
Antivaxxers, COVID-19 vaccines, and “hacking the software of life”
Antivaxxers and COVID-19 conspiracy theorists were always going to spin conspiracies about COVID-19 vaccines. Unfortunately, some scientists have made it so much easier for them by having likened mRNA vaccines to "hacking the software of life" and being unclear on what gene therapy is.
The “Disinformation Dozen” spreading anti-vaccine messaging on social media
Just twelve individuals are generating two-thirds of all of the anti-vaccine messaging on Twitter and Facebook.
Countering Geert Vanden Bossche’s dubious viral open letter warning against mass COVID-19 vaccination
Geert Vanden Bossche is a scientist who published an open letter warning of global catastrophe due to deadly variants of COVID-19 selected for by mass vaccination. His argument sounds a lot like an argument Andrew Wakefield once made for MMR. There’s even grift likely involved!
Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine Safety
Reports of blood clots after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine are very likely just background events.
The Brownstein protocol is not a proven treatment for COVID-19
Dr. David Brownstein is a "holistic" physician who practices in Dr. Gorski's neck of the woods. Unfortunately, he just wrote a book promoting an unproven protocol involving vitamins, nebulized hydrogen peroxide and iodine, and intravenous ozone to treat COVID-19. There is no evidence that his protocol works, other than a very poor quality case series.
State legislatures consider bills prohibiting COVID-19 vaccination mandates and other public health measures
Bills seek to prevent the states and private employers from mandating COVID-19 vaccines and other pandemic mitigation measures. Some proposed legislation would severely handicap public health officials in combating future health emergencies.
COVID Vaccines Probably Prevent Spread
The evidence is preliminary, but it looks like the COVID vaccines do reduce the risk of spread of SARS-CoV-2.
Antivaxxers misrepresent a study to falsely claim that COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer
The latest antivaccine propaganda claims that a 2018 research paper published by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center shows that the RNA in the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines can cause cancer. As usual, it's a complete misapplication of a cherry picked study grounded in a lack of understanding of molecular biology. Same as it ever was.
Hepatitis C Vaccine Fails Testing
A vaccine regimen intended to prevent chronic HCV infection was tested in a double-blind placebo-controlled trial. It failed. The incidence of chronic HCV infection was the same in the vaccinated group as in the placebo group.