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Medicine Popular culture Science Skepticism/critical thinking

“COVID parties”: Almost certainly an urban legend

There have been stories of “COVID parties,” where young people intentionally try to catch COVID-19. They are almost certainly urban legends.

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Medicine Politics Popular culture Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Airborne transmission of COVID-19: The controversy

Last week, 239 scientists in 32 countries published an open letter to the WHO arguing that airborne transmission of COVID-19 occurs and urging it to change its recommendations. What is behind this controversy?

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

No, the Americans With Disabilities Act doesn’t say shop owners have to let maskless people into their stores

Antimask activists falsely claim they have medical problems that mean that they don’t have to wear masks and, further, that the American with Disabilities Act protects them. They’re wrong.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine Politics Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

Dr. Cammy Benton: An antivaxxer plays the “both sides” card on masks for COVID-19

Dr. Cammy Benton is an antivaxxer. She also thinks that “both sides” are way over the top when it comes to masks for COVID-19, in a classic case of false equivalence.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery

“We need to catch that cold!”: Antivaxxers and COVID-19 deniers vs. public health

Antivaccine activist Del Bigtree posted a rant denying the severity of COVID-19, blaming the chronically ill for having made themselves vulnerable to severe disease through their lifestyle choices, and urging the young and healthy to “catch this cold”. His rant shows exactly why COVID-19 conspiracy theorists and antivaxxers have such an affinity for each other and resist public health initiatives.