Florida is swamped by disease outbreaks as quackery replaces science

Published March 3, 2024

Published by: The Guardian
Published on: March 3, 2024
By Richard Luscombe

Shortly before Joseph Ladapo was sworn in as Florida’s surgeon general in 2022, the New Yorker ran a short column welcoming the vaccine-skeptic doctor to his new role, and highlighting his advocacy for the use of leeches in public health.

It was satire of course, a teasing of the Harvard-educated physician for his unorthodox medical views, which include a steadfast belief that life-saving Covid shots are the work of the devil, and that opening a window is the preferred treatment for the inhalation of toxic fumes from gas stoves.

But now, with an entirely preventable outbreak of measles spreading across Florida, medical experts are questioning if quackery really has become official health policy in the nation’s third most-populous state.

Comments closed

anti-vaccine movement

Public health officials detail threats, changed landscape post-pandemic

Published December 11, 2023

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on: December 11, 2023
By Stephanie Soucheray

Public health leaders, including state commissioners and directors, and frontline health workers experienced threats to their well-being and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to up to 30% to step down, retire, or leave the field, according to a recent study in Public Health in Practice.

Comments closed

conspiracy theories

Conspiracy theories are popular in Canada, especially among conservatives: poll

Published December 3, 2023

Published by: CTV News / The Canadian Press
Published on: December 3, 2023
By Sarah Ritchie

The Earth is flat. We have been secretly contacted by intelligent beings from other planets. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin did not land on the moon in 1969. They may sound like bizarre statements, but a new poll suggests a sizable number of Canadians believe in these and other conspiracy theories.

Comments closed

disinformation

Fact Check: Iceland has not banned COVID vaccines

Published December 1, 2023

Published by: Reuters
Published on: December 1, 2023
By Reuters Fact Check

A headline shared online falsely claims that Iceland has banned COVID-19 vaccines and cites sudden deaths for which there is no evidence, according to the Icelandic national health authority.

Iceland has not banned COVID vaccines and “there are no soaring sudden deaths,” Guðrún Aspelund, chief epidemiologist at the Icelandic Directorate of Health, told Reuters in a Nov. 29 email.

Comments closed

Alberta

Preston Manning’s Prescription for a Pandemic Disaster

Published November 16, 2023

Published by: The Tyee
Published on: November 16, 2023
By David Climenhaga

The right-wing godfather’s Alberta government report promotes politicians over scientists and doctors.

Comments closed

the death of public health

‘Endemic’ SARS-CoV-2 and the death of public health

Published November 6, 2023

Published by: The John Snow Project
Published on: November 6, 2023

SARS-CoV-2 is now circulating out of control worldwide. The only major limitation on transmission is the immune environment the virus faces. The disease it causes, COVID‑19, is now a risk faced by most people as part of daily life.

Comments closed

science denial

COVID-19 et climat : Contrer les mécanismes du déni par un vaccin démocratique

Published August 22, 2020

Published by: L’actualité
Published on: August 22, 2020
By Karel Mayrand

Whether it’s about COVID or the climate, conspiracy theories are the sign of a deep evil: the weakening of democracy.

Comments closed

Tag: science denial