Category: Vaccines

Shameless self-promotion: Dr. Gorski on the Thinking Critically podcast

Dr. Gorski appeared on the Thinking Critically podcast to discuss the antivaccine movement, COVID-19, medical conspiracy theories, and his journey to skepticism.

/ February 7, 2021
Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

The efforts of antivaxxers to portray COVID-19 vaccines as harmful or even deadly continue apace (VAERS edition)

With the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines continuing apace, so are the efforts of antivaxxers to portray the vaccines as dangerous. This time around, they've resurrected the old antivaccine trick of deceptively misusing the VAERS database to imply causation from VAERS reports. That's not how VAERS works, however.

/ February 1, 2021

The Anti-Vaxxer Playbook to Destroy Confidence in COVID-19 Vaccines

Major anti-vaccination voices and organizations have coalesced around three key messages to keep people from accepting the COVID-19 vaccine. Their playbook has now been exposed.

/ January 21, 2021
Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

The efforts of antivaxxers to portray COVID-19 vaccines as harmful or even deadly continue apace…

As more and more COVID-19 vaccines find their way into more and more arms, there are reports of bad things happening to people after vaccination up to and including even death. As I've been predicting for a long time that they would, antivaxxers are now weaponizing these reports and anecdotes before they have even been investigated in order to spread fear, uncertainty,...

/ January 18, 2021
Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

Did the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine cause a fatal case of ITP?

Last week, 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...

/ January 11, 2021

Deliberately Spoiled Vaccines: Conspiracy thinking and health professionals

A Wisconsin pharmacist is facing charges after deliberately tampering with a batch of COVID-19 vaccines, demonstrating that a health professional's education is no vaccine against conspiracy beliefs.

/ January 7, 2021

The New SARS-CoV-2 Variants

Two new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been detected that are more infectious. What are the implications?

/ January 6, 2021
COVID-19 vs. FDA and CDC

Germ theory denial in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic

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?

/ January 4, 2021
Dr. Gorski gets the COVID-19 vaccine

Syncope and Bell’s palsy: Distinguishing correlation from causation for adverse events observed after COVID-19 vaccination

The FDA has approved emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for two COVID-19 vaccines, and the largest mass vaccination program in history has begun. Look for antivaxxers to attribute reactions to the vaccine that the vaccine very likely didn't cause. We'll examine the example stories of vasovagal syncope and Bell's palsy that were reported by the press last week.

/ December 21, 2020

COVID-19 vaccine rollout creates new scamming opportunities for crooks

As new COVID-19 vaccines become available to the public, swindlers are adjusting their cons to fit the moment, even going door-to-door to peddle their scams.

/ December 17, 2020