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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Pseudoscience

An antivaccine slasher myth originated in The BMJ

Recently, a claim that Pfizer’s own documents demonstrate that the efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine was only 12% went viral. This is a slasher stat, so-named because like the killers in slasher movie series, even when it appears to be dead it always reappears to kill again. This particular myth originated in The BMJ in 2021.

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Bad science Clinical trials Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

Yet another negative ivermectin study, this time in the NEJM

Yesterday the The New England Journal of Medicine published a high quality clinical trial that found no benefit in treating COVID-19 with ivermectin. Cue attacks on the study.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine Politics

“Debate me” bros in the age of COVID-19 disinformation

Quacks, science deniers, and conspiracy theorists love to challenge doctors, scientists, and science communicators to “live public debates” over the science they deny. I just say no, and you should say no too if you are in a position to receive such a challenge.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Religion

Everything old is new again: Abusing religious exemptions to avoid COVID-19 vaccines

As I’ve said many times, in the age of COVID-19 everything old is new again, with antivaxxers resurrecting every old trope and tactic they’ve used for decades and repurposed them for the pandemic. Now it’s the false claim of religious exemptions to COVID-19 mandates.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine

Lipid nanoparticles: The antivax “toxins gambit” reborn for COVID-19 vaccines

Remember the “toxins gambit,” that antivaccine talking point falsely claiming that vaccines are loaded with “toxins”? It’s back for COVID-19 vaccines, and this time lipid nanoparticles are the new mercury and aluminum.