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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine Politics Popular culture

After FDA approval of Comirnaty, antivaxxers claim it’s still “experimental”

On Monday the FDA granted full approval to Comirnaty, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. By Tuesday, antivaxxers had a propaganda line that the vaccine is still “experimental.”

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

About that Salk Institute paper on the “deadly” COVID-19 spike protein

Antivaxxers have been working overtime lately to claim that the spike protein used as the antigen in COVID-19 vaccines is deadly, and they’ll cite any old tenuous evidence based on a misunderstood (by them) study to do it.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bioethics Medicine

To unblind or not to unblind COVID-19 vaccine trials?

Antivaccine alternative health tycoon Joe Mercola claims that the unblinding of participants in the clinical trials of Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines was intended to “blow up the trials” and undermine the science, making it impossible ever to identify long term adverse events. What he’s really doing is deceptively oversimplifying complex ethical and scientific issues surrounding these trials in the middle of a deadly pandemic, all in the service of his grift.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine Pseudoscience

Shedding: An antivax trope resurrected for COVID-19 vaccines

Antivax pediatrician Dr. Larry Palevsky recently demonized COVID-19 vaccines by resurrecting the old antivaccine trope of vaccinated people “shedding” and causing illness in the unvaccinated. This time, he claims, the shedding of spike protein causes illness and menstrual problems in the unvaccinated. It’s utter nonsense.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

Antivaxxers don’t want COVID-19 vaccines to “impurify” their “purity of essence”

Antivaxxers frequently make the false claim that mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines “permanently alter your DNA.” These claims are really a concern about “impurifying” their “purity of essence.”