Results for: COVID-19

Brownstone uses flawed data analysis to minimize COVID in NYC; An NYC hospitalist’s perspective

Guest posters Drs. Eric Burnett and Jonathan Laxton provide a lengthy rebuttal to Dr. Jessica Hockett's claims that NYC did not suffer a deadly, almost overwhelming wave of COVID-19 in 2020.

, / December 1, 2022
The Cow-Pock

What does “antivaccine” really mean since the pandemic hit?

We frequently use terms like “antivaccine,” “antivax,” and “antivaxxers.” Critics think it’s a “gotcha” to ask how we define “antivax” or to accuse us of reflexively label "questioning" of vaccines as "antivax." It's not. There are gray areas, but not so gray that the word is never appropriate. Has anything changed since I first tried to define "antivaccine" in 2010? The answer:...

/ November 28, 2022

The 2022-2023 Respiratory Virus Season Hits Early and Hard: Part 2

What is RSV and why is it so bad this season? I discuss this and a promising new vaccine candidate.

/ November 25, 2022
Acupuncture

ASCO endorses “integrative oncology” quackery for cancer pain

Last week, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Society for Integrative Oncology published guidelines for treating cancer pain. These guidelines endorsed quackery like reflexology and acupuncture. The infiltration of quackademic medicine continues apace in oncology.

/ November 21, 2022

Was New York’s Spring 2020 COVID Wave an Illusion?

Asking for "evidence" that New York City got hit hard by COVID makes as much sense as asking for "evidence" that New York City exists in the first place.

/ November 18, 2022

Don’t Forget About the Flu

We are heading into a bad flu season. Get vaccinated.

/ November 16, 2022

Aromatase inhibitors and acupuncture in breast cancer: Spinning a negative study, four years later

Four years ago, I wrote about an essentially negative study looking at whether acupuncture could alleviate joint pain caused by aromatase inhibitors, a common treatment for estrogen-sensitive breast cancer. The study's back, and it doesn't look any more positive.

/ November 14, 2022
Snake Oil apostates

The appeal of being a medical “apostate”

There has long been a huge appeal in medicine that derives from being an "apostate". Since COVID-19 hit, apostasy has become like a drug among too many doctors, and social media has amplified the popularity of "medical apostates" beyond anything I've seen previously.

/ November 7, 2022

Letter to a Medical Student: You Erred. You Are Owed an Apology.

While you are an adult who is responsible for your own words, the editors of Sensible Medicine did you a grave disservice by letting you publish your article.

/ November 6, 2022

Was Closing Schools an Obvious and Colossal Mistake?

Maybe it was a mistake to close schools. However, those who make this claim should honestly grapple with what would have happened had nothing been done rather than indulge an absurd fantasy that everything would have been fine and dandy.

/ November 4, 2022