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Bad science Medicine Popular culture

A bogus statistic about medical errors rears its ugly head in STAT

The claim that medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the US is one of those slasher statistics that just won’t die. This time around STAT News gave space to Michael Saks and Stephan Landsman to parrot that claim credulously in the service of selling their book.

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Antivaccine nonsense Cancer Medicine Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience

There is no bottom: Antivaxxers harass cancer patients

Antivaxxers/antimaskers harassed breast cancer patients outside of the Cedars-Sinai Breast Health Services building in Los Angeles. There is no bottom, and antivaxxers now appear to be aligning themselves with fascists.

Categories
Bad science Clinical trials Medicine Popular culture Skepticism/critical thinking

Ivermectin is the new hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19

The veterinary deworming drug ivermectin has become the new hydroxychloroquine in that it is being promoted as a highly effective treatment against COVID-19—and by many of the same people who previously promoted HCQ—despite evidence that is, at best very weak and at worst completely negative. Unfortunately, with the publication of two new and biased reviews, the “HCQ vibe” about ivermectin is stronger than ever.

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Anti-Semitism Antivaccine nonsense Holocaust denial Medicine Politics Popular culture

Juneteenth and Naomi Wolf: Antivaxxers co-opt another symbol to portray themselves as “oppressed”

Antivaxxers love to claim the mantle of the oppressed, even going so far as to use the Yellow Star of David to liken their “oppression” to that of the Jews under the Nazis. Now they’re trying to top even that by co-opting Juneteenth.

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Bad science Medicine Politics Popular culture

The “lab leak” hypothesis is becoming a conspiracy theory

Scientists have generally concluded that evidence points to a natural origin for SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, as a far more likely explanation for the pandemic than a laboratory origin. Recently, there has been a lot of media chatter about the “lab leak” hypothesis. Is there new evidence? Nope. The “lab leak” hypothesis is fast becoming a conspiracy theory.