COVID-19

ICAN FOIA lawsuit – misrepresenting another non-win from anti-vaccine group

This article about another ICAN FOIA 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.

The Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN) is an anti-vaccine organization, founded in 2016 by Del Bigtree, largely funded by a New York couple, Bernard and Lisa Selz.

On March 4 and March 5, 2020, ICAN claimed a “win” against the CDC that, they said, prevented CDC from claiming vaccines don’t cause autism. In reality, the ICAN Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit was settled, and the settlement doesn’t counter the existing scientific consensus that vaccines do not cause autism.Read More »ICAN FOIA lawsuit – misrepresenting another non-win from anti-vaccine group

2020 Vaccine Day – reminders about their safety and effectiveness

by Michael Simpson
2020-09-09
COVID-19, Del Bigtree, HPV vaccine, Robert F Kennedy Jr, Vaccines

Today is 2020 Vaccine Day. It’s not an official holiday with Hallmark cards but it is an annual event where #DoctorsSpeakUp about vaccines and remind the world that vaccines stop diseases.

And they are safe.

And they are effective.

This article isn’t here to argue about some obscure point about vaccines like they don’t cause autoimmune diseases, because they don’t. I just want to cover some of the more important issues about vaccines about which I wrote over the past few years (I’ve been writing here since January 2012).

So, let’s celebrate the 2020 Vaccine Day, and I’m here to help #DoctorsSpeakUp.Read More »2020 Vaccine Day – reminders about their safety and effectiveness

February 2020 ACIP Meeting review – Ebola, influenza, and coronavirus

This article about the February 2020 ACIP meeting 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.

I attended a large part of the February 2020 ACIP meeting (Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices) in Atlanta, GA. I had planned to stay throughout, but my airline changed my return flight and I had to leave before the end on the second day. I did, however, watch the first day and the first two parts of the second.

The coronavirus crisis changed some things. For example, there were multiple international groups visiting the CDC (there was also at least one group that was there for other reasons and sat on part of the meeting). And we had a presentation on the topic from Dr. Nancy Messonnier.

I will describe the meeting in the order it happened, though this is the very abbreviated version. As I said before, an ACIP meeting is a geek’s dream – there’s a lot of data provided and in-depth discussions of details. The committee has a heavy and important responsibility, and since it was targeted by anti-vaccine activists is carrying it out under tricky circumstances.Read More »February 2020 ACIP Meeting review – Ebola, influenza, and coronavirus

Flu vaccine for COVID-19 – why you should be vaccinated soon

by Michael Simpson
2020-09-09
COVID-19, Flu vaccine, Infectious disease, Vaccines

Yes, this article will discuss the flu vaccine for COVID-19 (the current coronavirus outbreak). But for those of you who don’t just read headlines, no, I am not suggesting that the flu vaccine will prevent a coronavirus infection.

As I wrote recently, a coronavirus vaccine is years away from reality. Any suggestion otherwise depends upon magical thinking and beliefs, not in evidence. But there are many things we can do that may prevent the most severe complications from the disease.Read More »Flu vaccine for COVID-19 – why you should be vaccinated soon

Coronavirus homeopathic potions – here comes the quackery and woo

The quacks are out in force with this potential COVID-19 pandemic. Predictably, people are pushing coronavirus homeopathic potions to treat or prevent this dangerous disease.

In case you don’t feel like reading this article, let me give you a spoiler alert – homeopathy is 100% water, and it will do nothing to treat or prevent anything. It’s useless.Read More »Coronavirus homeopathic potions – here comes the quackery and woo

Coronavirus vaccine development – Donald Trump gets it all wrong again

Donald Trump’s ignorant comments about how the COVID-19 pandemic would be over by April makes people believe there is a coronavirus vaccine just around the corner. There isn’t.

Of course, Trump is ignorant about the vast swaths of science from climate change to vaccines, so if he says anything about science, it should be immediately ignored.

Even if he claimed that the blue sky was caused refraction of light, I’d immediately go outside, check the color of the sky, then pull out a physics textbook to confirm what he said. I’m that skeptical of anything that comes out of his ignorant, anti-science mouth.

His claim that the epidemic will be over by April is in direct opposition to real scientists and experts at the CDC, WHO, and elsewhere, all of whom are extremely concerned about a coronavirus pandemic.

His comments, and questions across the internet, seem to imply that a coronavirus vaccine is around the corner, and we shouldn’t worry. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Let’s take a look at vaccine development, and I am going to especially focus on some of the technical challenges for a coronavirus vaccine. Just because we need some fact-based evidence so that pro- and anti-vaccine people understand what’s going on.

I’m assuming that most anti-vaxxers will publicly or secretly get the coronavirus vaccine. Just a guess, but maybe they’ll get information here first.

Novel coronavirus myths – crazy conspiracy theories including vaccines

by Michael Simpson
2021-03-11
COVID-19, Infectious disease, James Lyons-Weiler, Vaccines

Unless you’re living under a rock, you’ve probably heard many novel coronavirus myths over the past few days as everyone is breathlessly watching the news about the disease. Well, this article is here to mock the conspiracy theories, just because.

This does not mean that we should ignore the new coronavirus, but we should be aware of the pseudoscience and fake news that’s out there these days. I’m sure that in 1750, people blamed smallpox on the devil. Or on Ben Franklin’s electricity experiments. Or on a solar eclipse.

This article will take on some of the weirder or scary novel coronavirus myths. But if you run across something that makes your eyes roll and makes you wonder about science education, please comment. Maybe I’ll incorporate it into part II.

Coronavirus facts – crackpot conspiracists claim it exists to push vaccines

Recently, the world press is breathlessly reporting an outbreak of a respiratory illness caused by a new coronavirus (termed “2019-nCoV”). It was first detected in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.

Predictably, the second that the story about this coronavirus hit the clickbait headlines across the world, the anti-vaccine conspiracists started pushing all kinds of ignorant nonsense.

You know those conspiracies like the military (unknown which one) created the virus to kill people. Or China is trying to destroy ‘Murica. Or Bill Gates invented the virus (well, if he did, it’s because of Windows 7). Or Big Pharma created the virus because they have a secret vaccine that they can sell for billions of gold bars.

Of course, there isn’t a scintilla of evidence that any of those conspiracies are true. However, if the coronavirus does become a worldwide epidemic (and it hasn’t so far), then the CDC, WHO, and Big Pharma will work feverishly to find a vaccine to prevent it.

This article isn’t going to spend time refuting such nonsense, but we will focus on the science and the facts since this is a serious concern to people.Read More »Coronavirus facts – crackpot conspiracists claim it exists to push vaccines

CDC director Thomas Frieden resigns – time for a Trump appointment

by Michael Simpson
2020-09-09
Andrew Wakefield, COVID-19, Public health, Vaccines

CDC director Thomas Frieden has announced his resignation from his position at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The federal agency’s main goal is to protect public health and safety through the control and prevention of disease, injury, and disability across the world. And our favorite anti-science president-elect, Donald Trump, will appoint his successor.

The agency focuses its attention on infectious disease control partially through advocacy for vaccines. The staff of 15,000 scientists, researchers, physicians, and US Public Health Services commissioned officers, are dedicated to investigating infectious diseases, food borne pathogens, environmental health, occupational safety and health, health promotion, injury prevention, and public health educational activities – all are designed to help improve the health of Americans and people across the world.

CDC officials are often the first responders to ground zero of dangerous infections. They are generally the first scientists who determine the proper course of treatment for novel diseases, while monitoring its spread across a geographic area. They are warriors in the fight against diseases across the world, including Zika virus and many others.

A significant part of the CDC’s mission involves attacking public health problems globally. In today’s interconnected world, a disease that shows it’s ugly head in an isolated village in the Amazon can be transported to a major city in another country in less than 36 hours. This take money. And this takes manpower.

Let’s take a look at the career of CDC director Thomas Frieden, and the potential consequences of a Donald Trump appointee to the position. Read More »CDC director Thomas Frieden resigns – time for a Trump appointment

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