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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Politics Popular culture

“Lab leak” is now very much like antivax in its harms to public health

Ever since COVID-19 first emerged in 2020, evidence-free claims that it had arisen due to a “lab leak” have proliferated and caused as much harm as antivax. A recent paper argues that this conspiracy theory has been very harmful to science. I argue that it’s more than just lab leak that is harmful.

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Antivaccine nonsense News of the Weird Politics

RFK Jr. is incredibly bizarre

The New Yorker published a story reporting that RFK Jr. picked up a bear cub killed by a car and dumped it in Central Park as a joke. WTF? I knew that RFK Jr. and his antivax conspiracy theories were bizarre, but WTF?

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Medicine Politics Popular culture

Public health science saves lives

Christopher Ruhm, COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccine, cross-sectional study, epidemiology, excess deaths, excess mortality, public health, vaccines.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Quackery

Steve Kirsch had a subretinal hemmorhage. No, it wasn’t vaccines.

Tech bro turned antivaxxer Steve Kirsch recently suffered a devastating subretinal hemorrhage. While I hope he recovers his vision, antivaxxers are being antivaxxers and blaming his vision loss on vaccines.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics

Antivax lawyer Aaron Siri misrepresents vaccine safety testing

Vaccine scientist Stanley Plotkin coauthored a commentary on vaccine postlicensure studies. Antivax lawyer Aaron Siri tries to misrepresent it as an “admission” that vaccines aren’t safe. Predictable.