Tag: COVID-19
John Ioannidis and the Carl Sagan effect in science communication about COVID-19
We have been critical about John Ioannidis over a number of his statements about the COVID-19 pandemic. Now he's done it again, producing a poor-quality paper whose unwritten assumptions suggest that the Carl Sagan effect, in which scientists are penalized professionally by their peers for becoming popular science communicators, still holds considerable sway in science and medicine.
Treating the Unvaccinated
Should vaccination status be used to triage care for critically ill patients during a crisis?
The PULS test and COVID-19 vaccinations
No, nobody has proven that the COVID vaccine series increases your risk of heart attack. Here's why.
BOO: Or how “magic dirt” became a MLM miracle cure scam for COVID-19
"BOO" stands for Black Oxygen Organics, a "cure" for COVID-19 that got the attention of regulators last week. Basically, it's dirt billed by its believers as "magic dirt" that sells for $110 a bag (plus shipping) through a multilevel marketing sales model. What can this latest COVID cure tell us about the relationship between alternative medicine and COVID-19 denial?
Incorrect Numbers
Having made them myself, I completely understand that doctors can make errors. However, I can't fathom why some of them don't seem to care about correcting them, especially considering the health of children is at stake.
Omicron
Omicron is the latest variant of concern. It's too early to know what this means, but there is reason for concern.
Are the FDA’s VRBPAC and the CDC’s ACIP hopelessly compromised by conflicts of interest over COVID-19 vaccines?
The FDA's VRBPAC and the CDC's ACIP are the two main committees that approve vaccines to be sold in the US and issue recommendations regarding who should receive them and when. In the wake of the recent recommendation that children 5-11 receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is now portraying committee members as thralls of big pharma. But are...
The misuse and abuse of meta-analyses
The meta-analysis has been misused and weaponized to promote dubious COVID-19 treatments.
COVID-19 vaccines versus “purity of essence,” revisited
Antivaxxers frequently make the false claim that mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines "permanently alter your DNA". These claims are really a concern about "impurifying" their "purity of essence" and have now gone into some truly disturbing territory, such as antivaxxers calling themselves "purebloods".
The Need for Science-Based Medicine
The mission of SBM continues.