Tag: antivaccine
The ultimate COVID-19 antivax conspiracy theory, courtesy of the Brownstone Institute and Jeffrey Tucker
I've long argued that antivax beliefs, indeed all science denial, is conspiracy theory. Leave it to The Brownstone Institute's Jeffery Tucker to make my point better for me than I ever could. Of course, Brownstone was always going to "go there."
A poorly framed article on COVID-19 vaccine injury in the New York Times
A poorly framed article on people who believe that COVID-19 vaccines injured them is being trumpeted by antivaxxers. Where the New York Times and its reporter Apoorva Mandavilli go wrong?
Dr. Vinay Prasad vs. a VAERS study finding more reports of vaccine injury in red states
Dr. Vinay Prasad attacks an epidemiological study published in JAMA Open Network reporting that people in red states are more likely to report vaccine injuries, claiming that a more rigorous study would "not be difficult," when he knows that it would be very difficult.
The Truth vs. Alex Jones: How the DSHEA of 1994 gave conspiracy mongers the means to fund their empires
As the HBO documentary The Truth vs. Alex Jones shows, Alex Jones promoted the conspiracy theory that the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax to sell his supplement line. It's a model that many Internet conspiracy theorists use, like Mike Adams. Did the DSHEA help create Alex Jones and the modern conspiracy industry?
Mark Sircus and “natural allopathic medicine”? Now I’ve heard everything from quacks
The term "allopathic medicine" was invented by homeopaths in the 19th century as a disparaging term for medicine. So to see a quack like Mark Sircus try to coopt it as "natural allopathic medicine" is quite something.
Denis Rancourt and “no virus”: COVID-19 symptoms were due psychological stress from the pandemic response!
It's hard to believe that in the 21st century there are still those who deny that viruses exist. However, virus denial and antivax go together and always have. Denis Rancourt, while far from the first or more vociferous virus denier, is an excellent example.
Prions. Why did it have to be prions? (Again.)
Prions. Why did it have to be prions? (Again.) The antivax trope that vaccines cause prion disease is an old one, and antivaxxers are trying desperately to resurrect it to apply to COVID-19 vaccines.
Fenbendazole is fast becoming the laetrile of the 2020s
Antivaxxers who "repurposed" deworming drugs like ivermectin and fenbendazole are peddling cancer "miracle cure" testimonials that remind me of laetrile and Stanislaw Burzynski. Truly, everything old is new again.
How antivaxxers weaponize vaccine safety studies to falsely portray vaccines as dangerous
Antivaxxers have weaponized a huge multinational vaccine safety study of 99 million patient records that found rare adverse events and concluded that the risks of COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the benefits. How? A combination of the Nirvana fallacy and spin.
Yet more evidence that we physicians need to clean up our act
A recent study found that physicians and scientists who are perceived as "experts" are prevalent within the antivax community and more influential because of their status as physicians and scientists. Why do physicians continue to tolerate antivax quacks within our ranks?