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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?

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Bad science Bioethics Medicine Politics Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

China is forcing people to use traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) quackery to treat COVID-19

There is no evidence that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is effective against COVID-19. That’s not stopping China from forcing people to use it to treat coronavirus.

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Bad science Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

The astroturf effort promoting hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19 continues apace

A week and a half ago, a “study” published on “HCQ Trial” by an anonymous source claiming to be a group of PhD scientists went viral. It claimed that countries that used hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 had a 79% lower fatality rate than those who didn’t. It was horrible science and quickly debunked on Twitter by several epidemiologists. That didn’t stop it from going viral. Disinformation like this during a pandemic is one of the most dangerous challenges we face.

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Medicine Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery

Hydroxychloroquine: The Black Knight of treatments for COVID-19

Truly, hydroxychloroquine is the Black Knight of treatments for COVID-19. “America’s Frontline Doctors” demonstrated this for me conclusively.

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Clinical trials Medicine Politics Popular culture

Yale epidemiologist Harvey Risch defends hydroxychloroquine in Newsweek—badly

Yale epidemiology professor Harvey Risch published an embarrassingly bad op-ed in Newsweek defending hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. It reminded me how much acupuncture and hydroxychloroquine believers have in common.