Categories
Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

The latest antivaccine conspiracy theory: The novel coronavirus behind the Wuhan outbreak is due to a failed SARS vaccine

Yesterday, antivaxxers were saying that the flu vaccine caused the Wuhan 2019-nCoV outbreak because of viral interference. Now the outbreak is due to a failed SARS coronavirus vaccine. Can they get their conspiracy theories straight?

Categories
Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine Pseudoscience

Another study shows that autism is mainly genetic. Antivaxers go crazy.

This month the largest epidemiological study of its kind was published and concluded, once again, that autism is primarily due to genes and that the environmental component of autism risk is small. Not surprisingly, once again antivaxers didn’t want to hear that message.

Categories
Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience

Andy Serwer: Giving RFK, Jr. an unopposed platform to spread antivaccine propaganda on Yahoo! Finance

Andy Serwer of Yahoo! Finance interviewed Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. It did not go well. Serwer allowed RFK, Jr. to spew his antivax propaganda largely unquestioned.

Categories
Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Popular culture Skepticism/critical thinking

Antivaxxers invade San Diego Comic-Con

This weekend, antivaxers descended upon San Diego Comic-Con wearing Guy Fawkes masks and holding signs with antivaccine talking points. Less than two months earlier, they had descended upon Disneyland dressed as Star Wars characters. What’s up with antivaxers trying to influence geek culture?

Categories
Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

Did Gardasil kill Colton Berrett? The answer is almost certainly no.

Colton Barrett was a 17 year old boy who developed acute transverse myelitis at age 13, which left him partially paralyzed and dependent on a portable ventilator. Tragically, he died less than two weeks ago. His mother blames Gardasil, which he received two weeks before his first symptoms appeared, for his neurologic illness and death. However, Gardasil almost certainly had nothing to do with Colton’s illness.