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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

Surprise! Relatively small decreases in vaccine uptake can lead to big increases in vaccine-preventable disease!

Whenever vaccine uptake falls to a level below that needed to maintain herd immunity, the risk of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases climbs. It doesn’t take that dramatic of a decline. Here’s a study that shows how a small decrease in vaccine uptake can lead to a large increase in disease.

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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

Massive measles outbreaks in Europe: A harbinger of things to come in the US?

Right now, Europe is in the middle of a massive measles outbreak that has resulted in 35 deaths. Is Europe a harbinger of things to come in the US?

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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Politics Quackery

An antivaxer starts a WhiteHouse.gov petition for a five year moratorium on childhood vaccines. Hilarity ensues.

An old “friend” of the blog, Kent Heckenlively, has started a WhiteHouse.gov petition for a five year moratorium on childhood vaccines, until the government answers his questions about vaccines that can never be answered and shows evidence of their safety that he’ll never believe. Yes, the delusion is strong in this one, but, sadly, he’s not alone.

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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

President Trump appears poised to betray the antivaccine movement again. Suckers.

Because of Donald Trump’s long history of antivaccine statements, his meeting with Andrew Wakefield during the presidential campaign, and his meeting with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. during the transition, antivaxers thought Trump would give them what they want. They were wrong, just the latest to realize that they’ve been conned. Is it so wrong for me to feel serious schadenfreude here?

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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Surprise! John Oliver’s vaccine segment has given antivaxers a sad.

On his most recent Sunday show, John Oliver did a tour de force segment on the antivaccine movement. Not surprisingly, antivaxers are not pleased.