Tag: vaccines
The “12% efficacy” myth from the “Pfizer data dump”: The latest slasher stat about COVID-19 vaccines
Last week, a claim that Pfizer's own documents demonstrate that the efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine was only 12% (not the 95% reported) went viral. This is a slasher stat, so-named because it is not new and, like the killers in slasher movie series, even when it appears to be dead it always appears in another installment of the misinformation franchise to...
Columbia University finally cuts ties with America’s Quack Dr. Oz
Decades after Dr. Oz pioneered "integrating" quackery into medicine and after many years of promoting diet scams and quackery on a nationally syndicated daily television show, Columbia University appears finally to have had enough and has quietly downgraded his status. What took so long?
Scientific review articles as antivaccine disinformation
Antivaxxers have always written dubious scientific review articles to try to make their wild speculations about vaccine science seem credible. Usually such articles wind up in bottom-feeding journals. Unfortunately a recent pseudo-review article was published by an Elsevier journal, making it seem more credible when it isn't.
“This Would Translate to About 10,000 Deaths” Reflections From the Start of the Pandemic
“This would translate to about 10,000 deaths” Two years ago, Dr. John Ioannidis wrote an essay in STAT titled “A Fiasco in The Making? As The Coronavirus Pandemic Takes Hold, We Are Making Decisions Without Reliable Data.” It contained the following paragraph: If we assume that case fatality rate among individuals infected by SARS-CoV-2 is 0.3% in the general population — a...
“We’re Pro-Vaccine But”
Can you tell the difference between statements made by contrarian doctors and those made by anti-vaccine cranks like Dr. Joe Mercola and RFK Jr.? Find out for yourself.
Will You Share These Numbers?
Doctor who value evidence should be willing to share basic facts.
Antivaxxers misuse the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database to demonize COVID-19 vaccines
Over the last couple of weeks, a claim that the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database (DMED) shows that COVID-19 vaccines have caused a massive increase in cancer, neurological, and cardiovascular diseases in military personnel has gone viral. A closer look shows that the increases are almost certainly spurious and due to underreporting in previous years.
“Debate me, bro!”: Debate challenges by science deniers in the age of COVID-19
Quacks, science deniers, and conspiracy theorists love to challenge doctors, scientists, and science communicators to "live public debates" over the science they deny. I just say no, and you should say no too if you are in a position to receive such a challenge.