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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine

I fear for medical science under Donald Trump

It’s been two weeks since Donald Trump unexpectedly won the Presidential election despite losing the popular vote. Regular readers of my not-so-super-secret other blog know my opinion of this; so I won’t belabor it too much here. If you’re curious, I have written about Donald Trump’s antivaccine views here many times dating back to 2007, […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine History Holocaust Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Science Skepticism/critical thinking World War II

The annals of “I’m not antivaccine,” part 22: The Godwin of “We didn’t know”

This post is a bit later than usual, but there’s a good reason for it. Last night, I was in full food coma, having consumed the traditional Thanksgiving feast, along with a fair amount of wine. Besides, even a sometimes arrogant bloviator like myself, who uses a pseudonym based on a fictional, near-all-knowing supercomputer from […]

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Clinical trials Medicine Politics Popular culture

The cruel sham that is “right-to-try” will be up for a vote in the House tomorrow

It’s finally happened. A “right-to-try” bill is coming up for a vote in the House of Representatives. It’s been slightly modified from the version that passed the Senate last year to make it less patient-hostile, but it’s still the same cruel sham that right-to-try has always been.

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Antivaccine nonsense Pseudoscience Quackery

“Vaccine Awareness Week,” misinformed consent, and, of course, Nazis and eugenics

Orac is back, and what does he encounter upon his return? Barbara Loe Fisher, founder of the Orwellian-named antivaccine propaganda organization, the National Vaccine Information Center, pontificating about “informed consent” and vaccines. What she really means is misinformed consent to refuse vaccines, as in consent based on misinformation, pseudoscience, and fear mongering about vaccines. Naturally, she can’t resist bringing in Nazis as well.

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Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Medicine Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Science versus “ancient ways of knowing”

Science is the most effective means of determining medical treatments that work and whose benefits outweigh their risks. Those who promote pseudoscientific or prescientific medicine, however, frequently appeal to other ways of knowing, often ancient ways of knowing from other cultures, and pointing out deficiencies in SBM to justify promoting their treatments. Do their justifications hold water?