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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Popular culture

The New York Times flubs it discussing COVID-19 vaccine injury

A poorly framed article on people who believe they suffered vaccine injury is being trumpeted by antivaxxers. The New York Times definitely flubbed it this time.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Computers and social media Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

2021: The year the weaponization of VAERS went mainstream

Misuse of the VAERS database to spread fear, uncertainty, and doubt about vaccines has been a favorite technique of antivaxxers for decades. Unfortunately, 2021 was the year when this particular antivax trope was turbocharged. (Note: Orac will be taking a week off after this—see note in post.)

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine

Myocarditis and COVID-19 vaccines

Antivaxxers have been publicizing reports of myocarditis in young people, mostly male, after COVID-19 vaccination. ACIP will be meeting to discuss these reports to the VAERS database today. Is there a connection between mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines and myocarditis?

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine

Is this “turbo cancer” claim the single dumbest misuse of VAERS that I’ve ever seen?

A Substack writer who goes by the ‘nym “2nd Smartest Guy in the World” misuses VAERS to demonstrate a “143,233 surge in fatal cancers” due to COVID-19 vaccines, thus proving Betteridge’s law of headlines wrong in this case.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine

Antivax weaponization of v-safe: Like VAERS on steroids

Misrepresentation of VAERS reports has been a longstanding antivaccine propaganda technique. Now Del Bigtree has gotten his hands on V-Safe, the system created to track adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination. The results are, predictably, disinformation.