Category: Vaccines

It was inevitable that antivaxxers would claim that COVID-19 vaccines make females infertile

Antivaxxers have been claiming that vaccines cause female infertility for as long as I can remember. So it's not surprising that they are now claiming that COVID-19 vaccines will cause miscarriages or even make women infertile. Their assertion is based on a highly speculative and incredibly unlikely immunologic mechanism. Same as it ever was.

/ December 14, 2020

Responding to Dr. Vinay Prasad’s “dunking on a 7′ hoop” criticism of SBM

Last week, Dr. Vinay Prasad decided to resurrect his misguided criticism from over a year ago likening SBM-style criticisms of alternative medicine to "dunking on a 7' hoop". Why he would decide to renew his attack on combating science disinformation in the middle of a pandemic that has killed close to 300,000 Americans alone we don't know, but Drs. Novella and Gorski...

/ December 13, 2020
COVID-19

Deciding between a vaccine and…an infection?

A handy comparison of COVID-19 vaccines compared to COVID-19 infections.

/ December 10, 2020
Dr. Paul Thomas

The Oregon Medical Board suspends the medical license of antivax pediatrician Dr. Paul Thomas

Late last week, the Oregon Medical Board suspended the licenses of two physicians, one for bragging about not wearing a mask around his patients, the second being Dr. Paul Thomas, an antivaccine pediatrician, whose continued practice was deemed a threat to his patients. It's time for more state medical boards to step up, as Oregon's has.

/ December 7, 2020
Central Dogma of Molecular Biology

No, the Moderna and Pfizer RNA vaccines for COVID-19 will not “permanently alter your DNA”

With the new mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna likely to be available soon, antivaxxers have been ramping up the fear mongering. Their latest claim is that mRNA vaccines will "permanently alter your DNA" or even "make you transhuman." Such claims rest on an utter ignorance of the totality of what we know about the biology of DNA, RNA, and how...

/ November 30, 2020

Moderna’s COVID Vaccine

Preliminary results have been announced for a second mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, with even better results.

/ November 18, 2020

Pfizer’s COVID Vaccine

Here is everything you need to know about the recently announced COVID vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech.

/ November 11, 2020
HHS

Vaccine safety monitoring in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic

Last year, the Trump administration essentially disbanded the National Vaccine Program Office, folding it into an office focused on infectious diseases. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. What does this mean for monitoring the safety of the soon-to-be-approved COVID-19 vaccines?

/ October 26, 2020

COVID Vaccine Hesitancy

While many hope for a vaccine to help end the pandemic, vaccine hesitancy remains distressingly high.

/ October 21, 2020

Will Natural Herd Immunity End the Pandemic?

Is natural herd immunity a viable path to controlling the pandemic? Here is why that is a terrible idea.

/ October 14, 2020