Tag: COVID-19

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

Did the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine cause Dr. Gregory Michael’s fatal ITP?

Dr. Gregory Michael, who died of ITP after COVID-19 vaccination

Recently, a post by Heidi Neckelmann, the wife of Miami obstetrician Dr. Gregory Michael describing his death from idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) 16 days after being vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine went viral. Unsurprisingly, in her grief she blamed the vaccine for her husband’s death from a rare autoimmune condition that destroys platelets and causes bleeding. Unfortunately, Dr. Michael’s tragic death underlines the difficulty distinguishing coincidence from causation when evaluating adverse events after vaccination.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

Why is Peter Doshi still an editor at The BMJ?

Peter Doshi, trying to look as though he knows what he's talking about with respect to COVID-19 vaccines.
Peter Doshi, trying to look academic.

Peter Doshi is at least borderline antivaccine and has been casting doubt on vaccine efficacy since 2009. Earlier this month, he posted a badly flawed “analysis” casting doubt on the efficacy of the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines. Why does The BMJ still employ him?

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

RFK Jr. doesn’t like being called antivaccine and antimask

RFK Jr. in Berlin: Science denial at its worst
RFK Jr. at an antimask anti-"lockdown" rally.

RFK Jr. is angry—so very, very angry—because Terry Gross had pro-science guests on her NPR show “Fresh Air” who called him antivaccine and antimask.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

Even in a deadly pandemic, germ theory denial persists

A particularly silly form of germ theory denial
This is the sort of silly analogy that germ theory deniers consider compelling. Dr. Gorski can only respond: Why not both? It’s not as though we don’t have to use just one (vaccines) or the other (sanitation, better diet, etc.). Science-based medicine uses anything that sciences shows to be effective and safe.

As hard as it is to believe, in the middle of a global pandemic that’s claimed so many lives and so thoroughly disrupted society, there are people who still deny germ theory. How can this be?

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Andrew Wakefield spews nonsense about how the COVID-19 vaccine will “permanently alter your DNA”

Andrew Wakefield, the measles, and JPANDS
Thanks, Andy, for the measles.

Andrew Wakefield’s back, and—surprise! surprise!—he’s a COVID-19 conspiracy theorist who doesn’t understand biology. He thinks RNA vaccines are “genetic engineering” that will “permanently alter your DNA.”