The vast majority of Americans don't trust the media to "report the news fully, accurately and fairly," according to a new Gallup poll. Let's examine some recent examples that may help explain why the public is so skeptical of journalists.
COVID-19
September began with concerns about increasing COVID-19 cases and deaths across the nation, ending as new cases reached a plateau. These trends are consistent with nationwide spreading of the Delta virus variant. The future depends on interactions of vaccination reluctance with the virulent Delta variant and with a potential repeat of the previous winter peak. Is relief in sight? Are COVID-19 rates comparable to seasonal influenza rates as a reasonable goal?
It's intuitive that a robust immune response to COVID-19 will result in a less severe, even asymptomatic infection. A new study puts some numbers to the term "robust."
It's time for another installment of "The Health Ranger Chronicles," where we examine Mike Adams' claims about the supposed dangers of COVID vaccination. Adams and other Natural News writers have alleged that the shots are mind-control tools or bioweapons, and that planning for the pandemic began in 2015. This time, COVID-19 is apparently a real threat, but the vaccines are still more dangerous.
Remdesivir, an antiviral drug with the potential to treat COVID, has been largely ignored since its "introduction" to the world at the beginning of COVID. It just didn't seem to work very well. But data from a Phase 3 trial by Gilead was a surprise. The drug, when given to COVID patients in a non-hospital setting, did a very good job of keeping them out of the hospital. Here's a summary of the clinical data.
Over the past 20 months, some formerly unknown terms have become part of our vernacular, thanks to COVID-19. Do most non-scientists understand them? We’re guessing: Probably not. So, here’s a primer that may help you better understand what you're hearing and reading.
Vaccine skeptics continue to insist that the COVID shots are dangerous. As always, their favorite sources are the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and other similar passive surveillance databases. As cases of supposed vaccine injury are investigated, we come to the reassuring, though admittedly boring, conclusion that COVID-19 jabs pose a low risk to most people.
As the Delta variant becomes THE primary source of COVID-19 infections there’s a growing body of knowledge to explain why this is happening. Let's consider two new studies and a fact we may have forgotten.
The CDC is again recommending that fully vaccinated Americans mask up in certain circumstances. This is bad advice at odds with the available evidence that will only seed more vaccine hesitancy.
Mike Adams' perennially ridiculous anti-vaccine website Natural News continues to publish bad takes on the COVID vaccines. Welcome to part three of the 'Health Ranger' Chronicles.
New COVID-19 cases (infections) and deaths began a steep decline in January, followed by fewer deaths a few weeks later, resulting in lower case-fatality rates. Vaccination rates began to increase during this period, but not everywhere nor for everyone. Did these public health benefits result from increased vaccination rates?
A Texas wedding this past April became an unintentional experiment in vaccine efficacy. All 92 guests were vaccinated but COVID disease broke through in six people. Four of them got one of the mRNA vaccines and developed one mild illness. Two got Covaxin, a vaccine developed in India. Both became very ill and one subsequently died. The culprit was the dangerous delta variant.