Vincent Iannelli

Deaths in Norway are not linked to the COVID vaccine – another anti-vax myth

My list of COVID-19 vaccine myths keeps growing – this time, it’s about 23 deaths in Norway after they received the COVID-19 vaccine. On the surface, that seems frightening considering the fact that Norway is a relatively small country. On the other hand, a critical analysis should convince us that it’s not what it appears to be.

As I usually do with these COVID-19 vaccine myths, I’m going to review the facts of these 23 deaths in Norway plus how to interpret what is observed. And then I’ll get the standard “you are a Big Pharma shill” ad hominem personal attack in the comments. Of course, Big Pharma pays me $4.73 for each personal attack against me, so I should be able to afford a new Ferrari soon.

But seriously folks, let’s see if these deaths in Norway have anything to do with the COVID-19 vaccine.

Glyphosate causes autism – another debunked vaccine myth

Another one of those pseudoscientific tropes from the anti-vaccine religion has reared its ugly Bigfoot head – glyphosate causes autism. And, of course, the anti-vaxxers believe that vaccines are filled with that nasty chemical, so by some weird transitive logic, they think that vaccines cause autism because of glyphosate.

Yeah, no.

Of course, the belief that “vaccines cause autism” has been thoroughly debunked by powerful, robust, repeated clinical and epidemiological studies. It is “settled science” (and read the link, so that you actually understand what is meant). Now we have the oft-repeated myth that glyphosate causes autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The evidence that supports that claim is fairly weak, possibly nonexistent.

Even if it did, and most scientists are highly skeptical of the claim, we still know that there is almost no glyphosate in vaccines. And once again, even if there were and even if glyphosate causes autism, we know that there is no link between vaccines and autism. None.

A few years ago, Emily Willingham, Ph.D., whom I consider to be one of the leading ASD scientific experts on this planet, wrote a hysterical and scientifically skeptical article about all of the popular causes of ASD – Dr. Willingham noticed that there were new claims about what causes autism. Parents need to blame someone for their child’s neurodevelopment, so that’s how vaccines got into the crosshairs.

But let’s look at some of the science, and figure out if there’s any mechanism by which glyphosate causes autism.Read More »Glyphosate causes autism – another debunked vaccine myth

Hepatitis B virus causes cancer – yes, the vaccine can prevent it

A recent study provides more evidence that the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is linked to a variety of cancers – that’s not surprising to most of us. We also know that the HBV vaccine can prevent the infection, thereby preventing a wide range of cancers.

Despite the facts supporting the dangers of the hepatitis B virus, the anti-vaccine zealots absolutely despise the vaccine, especially since it’s usually given to newborns (with a second dose recommended at 1-2 months along with a third dose at about 12-18 months) to prevent HBV infections passed from the mother.

Let’s take a look at the hepatitis B virus and this new peer-reviewed paper that discusses the link between HBV and a number of cancers.Read More »Hepatitis B virus causes cancer – yes, the vaccine can prevent it

Testing vaccines for cancer – another anti-vaxxer myth with no credibility

If you’re spending more than a nanosecond reading idiotic memes from the anti-vaccine religion, I’m sure you’d see the old the package insert says that FDA doesn’t require testing vaccines to determine whether they cause cancer or not. It still makes me laugh how much authority the anti-vaxxers give to package inserts, but that’s another story for another day.

Oh wait, it is another story that I told. You know, the old argument by vaccine package insert fallacy. It’s a fun one, it’s helpful in dismissing the bogus claims that the anti-vaxxers make using package inserts.

Like all zombie memes from the vaccine deniers, this one keeps disappearing then returning every few months. And now with the current measles epidemic in the US and other areas, it’s arisen from the graveyard of debunked vaccine myths to haunt the internet.

And it’s time to debunk it once again.Read More »Testing vaccines for cancer – another anti-vaxxer myth with no credibility