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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics Quackery

Medical exemptions to school vaccine mandates soar in California as SB 277 makes personal belief exemptions unavailable

California’s new law that eliminates personal belief exemptions has been a success, increasing vaccine uptake after just one year. That isn’t to say that there aren’t problems. One potential problem is the increasing number of medical exemptions, likely fueled by doctors willing to write letters of support for them based on reasons that are not science-based.

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Bad science Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

Antivaccine misinformation by Dr. W. Gifford-Jones in the Toronto Sun: Retracted (under pressure) but not forgotten

A week ago, The Toronto Sun published a syndicated column by a pseudonymous Canadian doctor, Dr. W. Gifford-Jones. The column was packed with antivaccine misinformation and pseudoscience. Apparently due to complaints, the article was taken down after an uproar, but is still available on the website of at least one other Canadian newspaper. How is it that a physician who writes such twaddle can be syndicated in over 70 newspapers?

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Antivaccine nonsense Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

The Mawson “vaxed/unvaxed” study retraction: The antivaccine movement reacts with tears of unfathomable sadness

In the course of just a couple days, a pair of atrociously incompetent studies by Andrew Wakefield fanboy Anthony Mawson were published and retracted by a predatory open access publisher. Surveying the reactions of antivaccine activists, I can’t help but conclude that their tears of unfathomable sadness are delicious.

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Naturopathy Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

The Supreme Court of Canada grants a new trial to the parents who let Ezekiel Stephan die

David and Collet Stephan were convicted in 2016 for failure to provide the necessities of life for their son Ezekiel Stephan, who died of bacterial meningitis after his parents treated him with natural remedies, supplements, and naturopathy. Unfortunately, as a result of their appeal, the Canadian Supreme Court has granted them a new trial. Predictably, they are claiming vindication. The verdict is nothing of the sort. The Stephans got off on a technicality, but this ruling will serve as propaganda for quacks for years to come.

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Anti-Semitism Antivaccine nonsense Autism Bad science Medicine News of the Weird Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience

Out for signatures: A California ballot initiative by Cheriel Jensen that sounds as though it were written by Mike Adams

Last week, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla approved a ballot initiative to collect signatures that would, if passed, reverse school vaccine mandates, ban GMOs, and demonize chemicals. It sounds like something Mike Adams would have written. Fortunately, 365,880 signatures of registered voters are needed, which makes it unlikely that this will pass.