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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

RFK Jr. doesn’t like being called antivaccine and antimask

RFK Jr. is angry—so very, very angry—because Terry Gross had pro-science guests on her NPR show “Fresh Air” who called him antivaccine and antimask.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics Science

It’s been a week since Joe Biden won. Now what for medical science policy?

In 2016 and 2020, scientists expressed surprise and alarm at the results of the Presidential election. In 2016 it was alarm that someone as antiscience as Donald Trump was elected, and in 2020 it was over how close the election was, given Trump’s dismal record on science, medicine, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Are scientists out of touch? And now what, for federal science policy and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic?

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Bad science Computers and social media Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

“Masks make you sicker”: The unkillable COVID-19 conspiracy theory

Masks work to slow the spread of COVID-19, but the “masks make you sicker” narrative, like antivax nonsense, has proven to be unkillable and to be a killer.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics

AMPFest: Antivaxxers team up with QAnon and COVID-19 cranks

AMPFest is happening this week, and it’s a conspiracyfest featuring QAnon, Trump supporters, COVID-19 deniers, and antivaxxers. It should surprise no one how easily antivaxxers fit in with QAnon.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Clinical trials Medicine Politics Popular culture

Can we trust the CDC and FDA any more?

Since the COVID-19 pandemic reached the US, increasing concern has been expressed about the politicization of the CDC and FDA due to pressure from the Trump administration to downplay the severity of the pandemic and push out treatments and a vaccine as fast as possible, potentially at the expense of safety. This has led me to a disturbing question: Can I trust the CDC and FDA any more?