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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics

No, the rush for a COVID-19 vaccine is not turning provaccine advocates into antivaxxers

There is already widespread distrust of a COVID-19 vaccine, even before a vaccine is approved. Contrary to claims from antivaxxers, that doesn’t mean provaxxers are becoming antivax.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Clinical trials Medicine Politics Popular culture

Can we trust the CDC and FDA any more?

Since the COVID-19 pandemic reached the US, increasing concern has been expressed about the politicization of the CDC and FDA due to pressure from the Trump administration to downplay the severity of the pandemic and push out treatments and a vaccine as fast as possible, potentially at the expense of safety. This has led me to a disturbing question: Can I trust the CDC and FDA any more?

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Antivaccine nonsense Computers and social media Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Plandemic 2: Electric Boogaloo, or: How Mikki Willis doubled down on COVID-19 conspiracy theories

“Plandemic” is back with “Plandemic 2: Electric Boogaloo.” It’s even more COVID-19 conspiracies with even less credibility!

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Television

Alec Baldwin lets his antivaccine freak flag fly by interviewing RFK Jr.

Yesterday, celebrity Alec Baldwin let his antivaccine freak flag fly by interviewing antivaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on Instagram Live, spreading disinformation about vaccines and COVID-19.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bioethics Clinical trials Medicine

Should we bypass phase 3 trials of a COVID-19 vaccine?

Steve Salzberg proposed, in essence, bypassing phase 3 trials for a COVID-19 vaccine. It was a very bad idea for a number of reasons. To his credit, Steve later admitted his mistake.