Results for: autism
Medical conspiracy theories and COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has spawned almost innumerable conspiracy theories, and conspiracists like the antivaccine movement have joined forces with COVID-19 conspiracy theorists. To combat the proliferation of pseudoscience rooted in conspiracy theories, it is useful to step back and examine the nature of conspiracy theories, including ones that are not medical, even ones like QAnon. Critical thinking is the key to inoculating...
Plandemic: Judy Mikovits and the mother of all COVID-19 conspiracy theories (some final thoughts)
Last Friday, I deconstructed Plandemic, a misinformation conspiracyfest of a video that went viral last week. It turns out that Judy Mikovits, the disgraced scientist featured in the video has even more conspiracy theories and misinformation up her sleeve.
Plandemic: Judy Mikovits and the mother of all COVID-19 conspiracy theories
Judy Mikovits is a disgraced scientist who published a paper claiming that a retrovirus called XMRV causes chronic fatigue syndrome, results that other investigators were unable to replicate. Since then, she's been a regular on the antivaccine circuit, but now she's been reborn as a "Fire Fauci" COVID-19 conspiracy theorist. Sadly, it worked. Her book is #1 on Amazon.
MMR is Safe and Effective
A new systematic review shows convincingly that the MMR vaccine is safe and effective.
COVID-19 pandemic deniers and the antivaccine movement: An unholy alliance
Deniers of the severity of COVID-19 as a disease and pandemic have increasingly teamed up with the antivaccine movement, emulating their rhetoric, conspiracy theories, and tactics. The effect on public health is likely to be disastrous.
The Psychology of Vaccine Denial
A new study sheds a bit more light on anti-vaccine attitudes.
England’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year: Mumps and the “Wakefield Cohort”
It may not be the most worrisome virus out there these days, but England has just had its worst year of mumps infections in a decade thanks in large part to their "Wakefield cohort".
Canadian authorities warn chiropractors and naturopaths against making false COVID-19 claims
Regulators in British Columbia are investigating bogus COVID-19 preventatives and issuing public alerts warning chiropractors and naturopaths against advertising information that is not evidence-based. Other Canadian and U.S. authorities should follow suit to protect the public against pseudoscience.
A Popular Class of Antibiotics May Increase Risk of Birth Defects
A new study in the British Medical Journal has revealed a possible association between taking a popular antibiotic during early pregnancy and major congenital malformations.
Update on Vitamin K Refusal
Vitamin K shots at birth are a safe and effective method for preventing bleeding, but that doesn't stop some parents from refusing.