A New Science Forum
Excitingly, a new science forum Scrutable is here.
There’s a SCEINCE forum (officially known as the Nerd Lab) for discussion of, well, science – click here for breathless discussions of the latest research or to share your horror at the latest pronouncements from anti-vaccine commentators.
There’s a second serious forum for Heavy Shit (AKA Weighty Matters) which contains serious topics for serious people. Click here if you’re seriously interested in such serious discussions. Srsly.
You are also permitted to have fun, but only in the designated zones. No puns.
Oh, and one last thing: you might want to read the rules and abide by them.
The Anti-Vaccine Movement: A Terrible Track Record
Anti-vaccinationists have made a wide range of claims about the dangers of vaccines. In spite of the fact that they have generally had neither data nor a plausible mechanism for the claimed effect, several of their claims have been investigated by researchers.
As it turns out, the anti-vaccinationists are remarkably consistent. Time and time again, they are shown to be wrong. I’m not sure how many times a group needs to be wrong before people stop seeing them as credible. Perhaps people need to be reminded of how many times this group has been wrong? Read the rest of this entry »
Hitler and Vaccines
What’s more convincing than a Youtube video? Nothing. With that in mind, I draw your attention to this: Hitler and Vaccines, posted on Youtube by 101numbat. You can stop reading now and go watch the video. Read the rest of this entry »
Vaccine Scares: Mistakes, Fraud, and Media Scaremongering
The BMJ has published a strongly-worded editorial on Andrew Wakefield and his claims regarding the MMR vaccine. I was a little surprised to see that the headline ran “Wakefield’s article linking MMR vaccine and autism was fraudulent“. The use of this particular ‘f-word’ is quite rare in articles published in England, perhaps due to the nature of libel law in this country. Read the rest of this entry »
MMR vaccination – still underachieving on a massive scale
Guest blogpost from Peter Flegg, UK doctor.
This week I discovered a new toy to play around with. It’s the new interactive section of the Health Protection Agency website, called Health Protection Profiles. Read the rest of this entry »
Protect Yourself And Others: Get Vaccinated
Here is a Youtube video telling the story of one infant who contracted pertussis: Carter’s Story.
Here is what happened when there was an ill-founded scare surrounding the pertussis vaccine in this country: Read the rest of this entry »
A History of Anti-Vaccine Campaigns
Where to begin… well, I guess I’ll need to split this post up into sections. I’ll look at specific groups first, then move onto examples of vaccine scares. Read the rest of this entry »
The News You Didn’t Read: MMR Safe
Andrew Wakefield wrong? No connection between measles vaccination and autism? Not the kind of story the mainstream media are interested in. It doesn’t matter what quality of evidence you put before the press – what matters to them is the kind of story that the evidence can be claimed to support. Read the rest of this entry »
The Truth About Vaccines: Alternative Schedule
Having blogged about the introduction to Richard Halvorsen‘s book The Truth About Vaccines, and the early chapters on Vaccines and Autism and Mercury in Vaccines, I will now jump to the end of the book for my next post on Halvorsen. Read the rest of this entry »
Stuff And Nonsense 