Tag: hierarchy of evidence

The Dunning-Kruger Awards

Bob Sears posted his pic wearing Mickey Mouse ears a month before the big Disneyland measles outbreak...
This was posted a month before the big Disneyland measles outbreak…

Most folks understand, or think they understand, the Dunning-Kruger effect.

“Poor performers—and we are all poor performers at some things—fail to see the flaws in their thinking or the answers they lack.”

We Are All Confident Idiots

Not surprisingly, there are plenty of great examples of the Dunning-Kruger effect among vocal vaccine deniers.

The Dunning-Kruger Awards

But who leads the pack?

Smarter than the entire New York Public Health Department?

I don’t think so…

Yes, Forrest Maready, who came up with the Crooked Face Theory of vaccine injury, now considers himself to be an expert on polio.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. thinks that he is cursed with too much knowledge about vaccines…

Kelly Brogan, a holistic psychiatrist, got her case study published in the Advances in Mind-Body Medicine journal. History making? That’s about as history making as her vaccine paper that was published in the journal, Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine.

Full stop. There is a lot of good information on the Internet, but most folks who say they did their research about vaccines on Google choose “to accept only information that supports his or her position, and ignores or dismisses information in conflict with it.”

Will Jim Meehan ever understand vaccines better?

Will anyone that listens to these folks?

Don't let Goop's mistake become your mistake.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop made one mistake – thinking that they could give health advice.

The creator of the PEACH anti-vaccine safety manual that has been distributed in Orthodox Jewish communities spent years gathering anti-vaccine propaganda...
The creator of the PEACH anti-vaccine safety manual that has been distributed in Orthodox Jewish communities spent years gathering anti-vaccine propaganda…

While the average pediatrician doesn’t actively investigate vaccine safety, do you know who does? Real scientists and researchers…

Whether they put all of the anti-vaccine propaganda they gather into a binder or a vaccine guide on the Internet, these folks are simply misinformed about vaccines.

Don’t look to them to help get you educated about vaccines.

Dunning Kruger Awards

Dr. Baker Says to Stop Worrying About Measles!

Are you worried about measles?

Are you less worried because a chiropracter on the Internet told you to stop worrying?

Dr. Baker Says to Stop Worrying About Measles!

I have no idea who “Dr” Baker really is, but let’s take a look at his copypasta “evidence” for why you shouldn’t worry about measles.

What’s missing from his list?

All of the studies that say that vaccines aren’t associated with autism!

The study, Long-term measles-induced immunomodulation increases overall childhood infectious disease mortality, which found that measles had an affect on non-measles deaths (causing more of them) through “measles-induced immune damage.”

And lots of other evidence that says that the MMR vaccine is safe, effective, and necessary.

If you really don’t want to have to worry about measles, get your kids vaccinated and protected.

Unfortunately, some folks don’t have that option, as their kids might be too young to get vaccinated or might have a true medical contraindication to getting vaccinated.

They have to worry about measles, no matter what “Dr.” Baker says, mostly because of your unvaccinated kids…

More on Worrying about Measles

Does Getting a Flu Vaccine Increase Your Risk of Spreading the Flu or Getting Others Sick?

Have you heard the latest flu vaccine bombshell from anti-vaccine folks?

Like all other anti-vaccine bombshells, this one is a dud.
Like all other anti-vaccine bombshells, this one is a dud.

They think that they have evidence that flu vaccines spread the flu.

Does Getting a Flu Vaccine Increase Your Risk of Spreading the Flu or Getting Others Sick?

The latest anti-vaccine bombshell comes from Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, and is posted among a bunch of other articles that will have you scratching your head.

Did you know that Amazon’s Alexa is a ‘demon device,’ Apple is banning Christian apps in a war on Christianity, and that CHAOS is coming in the new year?

Not surprisingly, the “latest” anti-vaccine bombshell was a dud, even though it continues to be shared on the majority of anti-vaccine websites and Facebook groups.

What’s the problem?

Anti-vaccine folks are simply misinterpreting a small study, Infectious virus in exhaled breath of symptomatic seasonal influenza cases from a college community, from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Of course, that the study wasn’t a great anti-vaccine bombshell is easy to see if you actually read it.

Although the study did find an association between vaccination and greater fine-aerosol shedding for influenza A infections, if the flu vaccine really increases your risk for spreading the flu, then:

  • why wasn’t getting a flu vaccine associated with coarse-aerosol or nasopharyngeal shedding?
  • why wasn’t the association of vaccination and shedding significant for influenza B infections?

The answer is that because it was a small study, the finding about vaccination and shedding likely wasn’t really significant.

It wasn’t even what they were looking at in the study, which was instead trying to prove that you don’t have to cough and sneeze to spread the flu – simply breathing can spread infectious flu particles.

“Unvaccinated people are more likely to get the flu and transmit it to other people because they shed lots of virus into the nasal secretions into the air.”

Donald K. Milton

And as the authors of the study clarified, folks who aren’t sick because they got vaccinated and didn’t get the flu won’t shed and won’t get anyone else sick.

If anything, the study confirms just how hard it is to avoid folks sick with the flu and why everyone should get a flu vaccine each year.

And how hard it is to avoid anti-vaccine misinformation…

After all, anti-vaccine folks could have done a little digging and found that a previous study about influenza virus aerosols, Exposure to Influenza Virus Aerosols During Routine Patient Care, didn’t find a statistically significant difference among folks who got a flu vaccine and how much flu virus they shed (emitters vs non-emitters). In fact, they found that a small percentage of these patients were superemitters, who “exceeded average influenza virus aerosol concentrations by multiple times.”

What’s that mean?

It’s just another reason to get vaccinated and protected. While you don’t want to be exposed to a superemitter and get the flu, you also don’t want to get the flu and become a superemitter, getting lots of other people sick.

More on Does Getting a Flu Vaccine Increase Your Risk of Spreading the Flu or Getting Others Sick?

Do Vaccines Cause Bell’s Palsy?

We don’t usually know what causes Bell’s Palsy, so that makes it a perfect candidate for some people to think it’s a vaccine injury.

Mercola cites a study that looked at VAERS reports, so none of the cases were verified to see if they were actually caused by a vaccine. And he fails to mention all of the real studies that found no association between vaccines and Bell's Palsy!
Mercola cites a study that looked at VAERS reports, so none of the cases were verified to see if they were actually caused by a vaccine. And he fails to mention all of the real studies that found no association between vaccines and Bell’s Palsy!

And for anti-vaccine folks to use in their propaganda to scare you away from vaccinating and protecting your kids.

What Causes Bell’s Palsy?

Although we may not always know what causes it, Bell’s Palsy is fairly easy to diagnose.

“Bell’s palsy is a nerve problem that affects the muscles of your face. It causes weakness or partial paralysis of the muscles on one side of your face. With Bell’s palsy, your eyelid may not close properly and your smile may seem uneven.”

What Is Bell’s Palsy?

So what causes it?

“Bell’s palsy occurs when the nerve that controls the facial muscles is swollen, inflamed, or compressed, resulting in facial weakness or paralysis. Exactly what causes this damage, however, is unknown.”

Bell’s Palsy Fact Sheet

Most experts think that Bell’s Palsy is caused by a viral infection, which leads to swelling and inflammation of the facial nerve. That’s likely why steroids and antiviral medications, like acyclovir, are often helpful treatments.

“The prognosis for individuals with Bell’s palsy is generally very good. The extent of nerve damage determines the extent of recovery. Improvement is gradual and recovery times vary. With or without treatment, most individuals begin to get better within 2 weeks after the initial onset of symptoms and most recover completely, returning to normal function within 3 to 6 months.”

Bell’s Palsy Fact Sheet

Fortunately, most people with Bell’s Palsy, which mainly affects adults, get better.

Do Vaccines Cause Bell’s Palsy?

Bell’s Palsy was first described by Sir Charles Bell in 1821.

There are reported cases before that though, with the earliest by Cornelis Stalpart van der Wiel (1620-1702) from The Hague, The Netherlands in 1683.

And no, we didn’t have any vaccines in 1683.

That’s not to say that vaccines couldn’t cause Bell’s Palsy.

One vaccine, an inactivated intranasal influenza vaccine that was only used in Switzerland during the 2000-01 flu season, was associated with an increased risk of Bell’s Palsy.

Why? It was likely because of the enzymatically active Escherichia coli Heat Labile Toxin (LT) adjuvant that was used in the vaccine, which is not something you find in any of the vaccines we now use.

While you might find an occasional case report about a vaccine and Bell’s Palsy, remember that a case report published about one patient isn’t strong evidence that it wasn’t a coincidence.

It should be reassuring to everyone that plenty of studies have been done confirming that other vaccines we use do not cause Bell’s Palsy. And even in the case of that flu vaccine, the association was quickly discovered and the vaccine was discontinued.

In fact, since vaccines, especially the chicken pox vaccine and Tdap, can prevent infections that actually cause Bell’s Palsy, if you are worried about Bell’s Palsy, get vaccinated!

More on Bell’s Palsy?