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The coronavirus pandemic – just as bad for Trump supporting states

coronavirus pandemic

This article about how the coronavirus pandemic will affect conservative red states was written by a database expert who wishes to remain anonymous.

Among my more right-leaning Facebook friends, the attitude towards the coronavirus pandemic goes roughly like this: “The outbreak isn’t anywhere near as bad as the Liberal Media would have you believe. It’s almost entirely confined to sanctuary cities. Everyone should stop overreacting!”

For everyone else, this attitude seems delusional. But for people who live in right-wing communities, the “it’s not so bad” point of view is actually in line with observed reality. And the way that the media has been reporting on the outbreak actually exaggerates this effect. Continue reading “The coronavirus pandemic – just as bad for Trump supporting states”

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Coronavirus vaccines – massive list of vaccine candidates for COVID-19

coronavirus vaccines

Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the interest in coronavirus vaccines has been quite high (to say the least). I have been keeping an updated list of vaccine candidates in another article, but it was becoming so cumbersome to update, and I wanted to make information clearer to read, I decided to completely rewrite it.

This article about coronavirus vaccines will also be regularly updated, so stay tuned. Continue reading “Coronavirus vaccines – massive list of vaccine candidates for COVID-19”

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During the Age of COVID-19, support the Voices for Vaccines efforts

voices for vaccines

During our age of COVID-19, we are focused on the information and misinformation about the disease. Voices for Vaccines is a group that still advocates for stopping vaccine-preventable diseases across the world.

I am reposting a fundraising plea from Voices for Vaccines because we cannot forget that measles, polio, meningitis, and many other vaccine-preventable diseases that cannot be ignored. 

I know times are tough, but please support this group whose only goal is to support efforts to stop dangerous and deadly diseases.

Help us respond to real vaccine-preventable disease threats

We are asking you to donate to our Community Immunity Champions program to respond to a real threat.

History has taught us that vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks can follow crises such as the one we are living through together now.

  • Political disruptions and displacement led to a group A meningococcal outbreak in 1994 in Uganda and measles outbreaks in Ethiopia and Kenya in 2010-2011.
  • Unequal access led to a resurgence of measles in the United States from 1989-1991.
  • A measles outbreak in the Congo led to more than twice as many deaths there than the ebola outbreaks that preceded it.
  • Worldwide measles outbreaks in the first half of 2019 surged, surpassing the previous years’ numbers.
  • Hepatitis A outbreaks are already spreading in places such a Georgia, USA, with nearly a quarter of the almost 90 cases there requiring hospitalization.
  • COVID-19 is forcing parents in vulnerable places across the world to skip routine immunization, and others are opting to wait to vaccinate their children for fear of the vaccine.
  • Health misinformation continues to spread, weakening people’s faith in public health.

Voices for Vaccines wants to get to work right now to bolster confidence in vaccines to help alleviate fears and prevent VPD outbreaks.

And you can be part of this effort by supporting our Community Immunity Champions programs.

Donate Now

Today’s donors will help us launch the Community Immunity Champions program.

  • WHAT: A parent-to-parent network that helps vaccine-hesitant parents understand the facts about vaccines so they can make healthy choices for their families.
  • HOW: We are developing and providing training, tools, and resources to our community champions.
  • WHEN: NOW! The fundraiser is March 30 – April 14. Once funded, we’ll begin developing the training and tools immediately.
  • WHY: The anti-vaccine community is very small compared to the rest of us. But they are vocal and organized, and they are confusing parents with misinformation. We need to stand up in our communities, ensure the facts are clear, and help parents protect their children.
  • WHO: YOU! It’s up to each of us to stand up and be heard. We are looking for 200 individuals at least $50 to help us help communities understand the facts and protect their children!

Voices for Vaccines has a donor ready to match your donations, dollar-for-dollar up to $10,000!

Donate Now

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Corvelva vaccine research – here we go again with pseudoscience

Corvelva vaccine research

And here we go with one more attempt by the vaccine deniers to prove their worthless claims – more Corvelva vaccine research that is pure, unfettered pseudoscience. And to make sure that they can claim their research is peer-reviewed, they take the well-worn science denier’s method of publishing their garbage wherever they can. 

Although Corvelva vaccine research consists of producing data that is laughably bad, I have to keep picking it apart, because we all know anti-vaxxers everywhere will use it as if it is worthy of a Nobel Prize. To be fair, it might be as valuable as a Nobel Prize, since the article can be used as toilet paper, and we know how important that is these days. 

So, time to take down more Corvelva vaccine research. And it’s as bad as it always is. Continue reading “Corvelva vaccine research – here we go again with pseudoscience”

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Coronavirus vaccine testing – pro-vaxxers want to “take a risk” with testing

coronavirus vaccine testing

Time for something completely different – I keep reading statements by pro-vaccine people that they want to shorten coronavirus vaccine testing to get it out to the people faster. Let me slam on those brakes because nothing could be worse for public health than to engage in that type of thinking.

As I’ve written on a number of occasions, coronavirus vaccine testing is going to take a long time. Publicly, some “experts” are claiming that a vaccine might take 18 months, but that’s only if everything goes right. And since it always doesn’t go right, I would bet that it would take 4-5 years before we see a coronavirus vaccine.

Because of this pandemic has become very dangerous, and there are no “cures” right now (despite Donald Trump’s ignorance about chloroquine), the desire for a vaccine has become very loud and very annoying. 

But to speed up coronavirus vaccine testing is dangerous. And let me explain why. Continue reading “Coronavirus vaccine testing – pro-vaxxers want to “take a risk” with testing”

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BCG vaccine for COVID-19 – is a 100-year-old vaccine beneficial?

lung cancer vaccine

Ignoring quackery and Trump’s ignorance about chloroquine, it seems like everyone is throwing stuff at the wall to see if it works. Recently, while researching an article on coronavirus vaccines, I noticed that some were pushing the BCG vaccine for COVID-19.

I wanted to see if there was any evidence supporting the BCG vaccine for COVID-19, so here’s what I found. Continue reading “BCG vaccine for COVID-19 – is a 100-year-old vaccine beneficial?”

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COVID-19 vaccine research for coronavirus – updated 26 March 2020

COVID-19 vaccine

This article about COVID-19 vaccine research has been completely updated and can be found here. The comments section for this article has been closed.

Because the development of a potential COVID-19 vaccine is of massive interest currently, and because I have a passion for vaccine research and development, this article will a guide for vaccines involved with the coronavirus. It will be updated regularly, and I will post to social media when it is updated.

Right now, there are several COVID-19 vaccine candidates being developed by large and small pharmaceutical companies. Of course, social media will make it sound like they are all just around the corner, and they will all work.

It doesn’t work that way, so let me keep you updated with this guide to COVID-19 vaccine research and development. Continue reading “COVID-19 vaccine research for coronavirus – updated 26 March 2020”

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Chloroquine for coronavirus, I mean the Trumpvirus – evidence is weak

chloroquine for coronavirus

I’m sure you’ve all heard that President Trump has pushed chloroquine for coronavirus treatment. He claims that there is good evidence supporting it, but if we actually look at that evidence, is there anything there?

Once again, here’s a spoiler alert – the evidence supporting chloroquine for coronavirus is extremely weak. And there seem to be some risks in taking it, so the actual risks may far outweigh the actual benefits.

Let’s take a look. Continue reading “Chloroquine for coronavirus, I mean the Trumpvirus – evidence is weak”

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Nick Catone Facebook lawsuit – more questions than answers

Nick Catone Facebook lawsuit

This article about the Nick Catone Facebook lawsuit was written by Dorit Rubinstein Reiss, Professor of Law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law (San Francisco, CA), who is a frequent contributor to this and many other blogs, providing in-depth, and intellectually stimulating, articles about vaccines, medical issues, social policy, and the law.

Professor Reiss writes extensively in law journals about the social and legal policies of vaccination. Additionally, Reiss is also a member of the Parent Advisory Board of Voices for Vaccines, a parent-led organization that supports and advocates for on-time vaccination and the reduction of vaccine-preventable disease.

Recently, Nick Catone – who lost his son tragically in 2017, and blamed vaccines for it, with no good supporting evidence –  sued – or tried to sue – Facebook in federal court for, allegedly, removing his account.

The Nick Catone Facebook lawsuit is problematic, and the story, in its entirety, seems strange. Continue reading “Nick Catone Facebook lawsuit – more questions than answers”

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Rand Paul is wrong about vaccines – there is no debate

Rand Paul

Rand Paul thinks there’s a “debate” about vaccines. On one side, the ignorant, the uneducated, and the logical fallacy lovers, without any evidence whatsoever, invent some dubious and truly head-shaking nonsense about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.

On the other side (as if there really are two sides), are the educated, the logic lovers, and the skeptics who value published scientific evidence as to the most important and fundamental guide to determining a scientific consensus. This scientific consensus has determined that the earth is 4.5 billion years old, that all organisms on this earth have evolved from a single organism 3 billion years or so ago, and that vaccines are safe and effective. A scientific consensus exists not because I say it, it exists because a vast majority (not 51-49, more like 99-1) of experts in the field agree to this consensus.

Some people believe that a scientific consensus is based on some vote, political maneuvering, without understanding that a consensus in the US Congress (as if that’ll ever happen) is almost the opposite of how science works, and eventually arrive at a scientific consensus.

If there were a debate about vaccines, the pro-science/pro-vaccine side would score about 1547 points to 1 pity point for the deniers. In other words, it would be a world record victory for the real science side. 

But let’s get back to Rand Paul. 
Continue reading “Rand Paul is wrong about vaccines – there is no debate”