Tag: Vinay Prasad
Everything old is new again
Since the pandemic hit, I've frequently said things like, "Everything old is new again", referring to the antivaccine movement in the age of COVID-19. As 2022 dawned, I thought I'd expand a bit on what I mean. Is there a term for déjà vu, but what I'm seeing now is amplified a thousand-fold? Proponents of science-based medicine have been warning us for...
Doctors Must be Honest with Parents About Known Risks of COVID-19
Pediatricians know their job is to present accurate and thorough information so parents can make informed decisions. Contrarian doctors who write about COVID-19 should spend less time lecturing pediatricians and more time learning from them.
The Road to Hitler is Paved with… Masks and Vaccines?
The next time a healthcare worker or educator is attacked by a "freedom-loving" anti-vaxxer, it's reasonable to wonder who convinced the assailant that life-saving public health measures are in fact a ruse to pave the way for the next Hitler. Warning: This article contains offensive images about the Holocaust and sexual assault
The dumpster diving VAERS preprint debacle: How did we get here?
Last week, SBM devoted a lot of digital ink to a poorly done study analyzing the VAERS database for myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination that was widely publicized to imply that the vaccine is more dangerous than the disease. Three out of the four authors should have known better, leading me to ask: How did we get here?
Dumpster diving in the VAERS database to find more COVID-19 vaccine-associated myocarditis in children
"Dumpster diving" is a term used to describe studies using data from the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System database by authors, almost always antivaxxers, who don't understand its limitations. Last week, non-antivax doctors who should know better fell into this trap when they promoted their study suggesting that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are more dangerous to children than the disease.
Should COVID-19 vaccines be administered to children under an emergency use authorization?
Recently, Wesley Pegden, Vinay Prasad, and Stefan Baral argued in The BMJ that "COVID-19 vaccines for children should not get emergency use authorization". Their argument is lacking, and they left out a number of relevant facts.
Homeopathy Declining in Germany
Homeopathy is on the decline in Germany and elsewhere, partly due to the dedicated action of skeptics.
Responding to Dr. Vinay Prasad’s “dunking on a 7′ hoop” criticism of SBM
Last week, Dr. Vinay Prasad decided to resurrect his misguided criticism from over a year ago likening SBM-style criticisms of alternative medicine to "dunking on a 7' hoop". Why he would decide to renew his attack on combating science disinformation in the middle of a pandemic that has killed close to 300,000 Americans alone we don't know, but Drs. Novella and Gorski...
Is defending science-based medicine worth it?
Pseudoscience, denialism, fake news, and disinformation about health are a bigger problem than ever, thanks to social media. As doctors and scientists join lay defenders of science on social media, will they be willing to pay the price in terms of harassment? Or will they decide it's not worth the hassle? And what about our fellow docs who think that it's beneath...