Category: Public Health

“Health Freedom” group promotes legislation negating masks, other public health measures

National Health Freedom Action is promoting state legislation that would block enforcement of public health measures (e.g., mask wearing and social distancing) during epidemics and other emergencies. The organization and its allies embrace junk science and have successfully passed laws protecting quacks.

/ September 24, 2020

Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2

To what extent is SARS-CoV-2 airborne, and what does this mean in terms of preventing spread?

/ September 23, 2020
COVID-19 vs. FDA and CDC

In the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, 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...

/ September 14, 2020
Randomized Controlled Trial Schematic

Dexamethasone and Hydroxychloroquine: Why Randomized Controlled Trials Matter

What does the best evidence tell us about hydroxychloroquine and dexamethasone?

/ August 20, 2020

Preventing The Next Pandemic

Scientists saw the pandemic coming, but world leaders failed to listen. How can we prevent and minimize the next one?

/ July 29, 2020

COVID-19 and Excess Deaths

Excess deaths during the pandemic help tell a more complete picture of the impact of COVID-19.

/ July 22, 2020
COVID-19

COVID-19 “super-spreaders” and “super-spreading events”: The controversy

Evidence is emerging suggesting that COVID-19 does not spread equally. A minority of infected individuals seem to spread the virus easily to many people, while most infected individuals spread it to few others or no one at all, likely through a combination of circumstance, environment, and possibly biology. Why is this, and what does it mean for coronavirus containment strategies?

/ July 20, 2020
COVID party

COVID-19 parties: Urban legend or real thing?

You've probably seen breathlessly scolding stories in the media about young people holding "COVID parties", in which attendees intentionally try to become infected with COVID-19. Are these parties really a thing, or are they an urban legend? The answer is not entirely clear yet, but current evidence (more specifically, the lack of evidence) for them is much more consistent with the latter...

/ July 13, 2020

More Evidence Raw Milk is Bad

More evidence that raw milk has no health benefit, but does carry higher health risks.

/ July 8, 2020
Sneeze COVID

Is COVID-19 transmitted by airborne aerosols?

A recurring debate about COVID-19 bubbled up late last week, when a group of scientists announced an as-yet unpublished open letter to the World Health Organization arguing that COVID-19 transmission is airborne and urging it to change its recommendations. What is this debate about, and, if coronavirus is airborne, should we be more scared?

/ July 6, 2020