4. The Politics of Health

In this post, I will address fifteen of the most commonly used arguments against vaccines. Throughout this post, you should notice that none of these arguments require a great deal of scientific kn…

Research explores paranoia, dominance, uniqueness, gullibility, and collective narcissism to explain why narcissists are drawn to conspiracy theories.

Belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories can have severe consequences; it is therefore crucial to understand this phenomenon, in its similarities with g…

First major analysis examines impact across 185 countries since first jab was administered in December 2020

Chance of stillbirth reduced by 15%, researchers find, after examining studies and trials that enrolled 117,552 women

Northrup, once a beloved household name for her holistic approach to medicine, now claims that the coronavirus was part of a plot involving Deep State brainwashing and treacherous depopulation schemes.

'Russia seems to go back to groups that are predisposed to agree with some of its positions, or at least with the idea that Canada should disengage from whatever is…

Brain scans before and after infection showed more loss of gray matter and tissue damage, mostly in areas related to smell, in people who had Covid than in those who did not.

All the usual themes: Secret government alliances, anti-Semitic tropes, and nefarious scientists.

Drugmaker makes $37bn in vaccine sales and predicts bumper year ahead from Covid jabs and pill

Those who are living with disabilities, chronic illnesses or are immunocompromised because of medications or cancer treatment feel that their needs are not being considered as states open back up and lift mask mandates.

Science builds on science

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A text submitted anonymously to Montreal Counter-Info, critiquing covid-denialist, conspiracist, and "anti-lockdown" ideas within the anarchist movement.

The headline of the January 12 Bloomberg.com op/ed says it all: “Say Goodbye to Self-Isolating, WFH Mandates, Mass Testing.” The authors boast, “The balance of power between human and virus is shifting. Better armed against a lesser enemy, our species no longer needs to hide in a bunker waiting for a viral wave to pass.

Red thought “natural” remedies were the cure-all for everything. Nurses are heroes. Not the ones who endanger their patients by refusing to vaccinate during a global pandemic that’s killing millions. Definitely not those. But the 99%+ that are still trying to clean up the mess the anti-vaxxers...

The revenue medical journals earn from reprints is a big incentive to publish studies with positive findings.

Poll: 9 in 10 Americans say doctors should be held accountable for COVID-19 disinformation A new report released today urges state medical licensing bodies to investigate doctors who are deliberately spreading misleading or false COVID-19 information. And an overwhelming majority of the public agree: Nine in 10 Americans say doctors who intentionally spread misinformation about […]

US researchers show negative version of placebo effect behind many symptoms such as headaches and fatigue

It’s deadly, malicious and there’s no vaccine. The infodemic is here. But it's not unstoppable.

Scientists have warned wealthy nations to share vaccines with poorer countries or risk the emergence of new mutant variants.

Objective To estimate the real world effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 and Oxford-AstraZeneca ChAdOx1-S vaccines against confirmed covid-19 symptoms (including the UK variant of concern B.1.1.7), admissions to hospital, and deaths. Design Test negative case-control study. Setting Community testing for covid-19 in England. Participants 156 930 adults aged 70 years and older who reported symptoms of covid-19 between 8 December 2020 and 19 February 2021 and were successfully linked to vaccination data in the National Immunisation Management System. Interventions Vaccination with BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1-S. Main outcome measures Primary outcomes were polymerase chain reaction confirmed symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections, admissions to hospital for covid-19, and deaths with covid-19. Results Participants aged 80 years and older vaccinated with BNT162b2 before 4 January 2021 had a higher odds of testing positive for covid-19 in the first nine days after vaccination (odds ratio up to 1.48, 95% confidence interval 1.23 to 1.77), indicating that those initially targeted had a higher underlying risk of infection. Vaccine effectiveness was therefore compared with the baseline post-vaccination period. Vaccine effects were noted 10 to 13 days after vaccination, reaching a vaccine effectiveness of 70% (95% confidence interval 59% to 78%), then plateauing. From 14 days after the second dose a vaccination effectiveness of 89% (85% to 93%) was found compared with the increased baseline risk. Participants aged 70 years and older vaccinated from 4 January (when ChAdOx1-S delivery commenced) had a similar underlying risk of covid-19 to unvaccinated individuals. With BNT162b2, vaccine effectiveness reached 61% (51% to 69%) from 28 to 34 days after vaccination, then plateaued. With ChAdOx1-S, effects were seen from 14 to 20 days after vaccination, reaching an effectiveness of 60% (41% to 73%) from 28 to 34 days, increasing to 73% (27% to 90%) from day 35 onwards. On top of the protection against symptomatic disease, a further 43% (33% to 52%) reduced risk of emergency hospital admission and 51% (37% to 62%) reduced risk of death was observed in those who had received one dose of BNT162b2. Participants who had received one dose of ChAdOx1-S had a further 37% (3% to 59%) reduced risk of emergency hospital admission. Follow-up was insufficient to assess the effect of ChAdOx1-S on mortality. Combined with the effect against symptomatic disease, a single dose of either vaccine was about 80% effective at preventing admission to hospital with covid-19 and a single dose of BNT162b2 was 85% effective at preventing death with covid-19. Conclusion Vaccination with either one dose of BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1-S was associated with a significant reduction in symptomatic covid-19 in older adults, and with further protection against severe disease. Both vaccines showed similar effects. Protection was maintained for the duration of follow-up (6 weeks). A second dose of BNT162b2 was associated with further protection against symptomatic disease. A clear effect of the vaccines against the B.1.1.7 variant was found.

Anti-vaccine activists are using the side effect reporting system to spread fear and misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines. But the database could also be used as a gauge for public concerns.

A news interview I did was re-edited and misquoted by online conspiracy theorists. My advice is: get the vaccine, says David LV Bauer of the Francis Crick Institute