California is poised to empower children as young as 12 to receive COVID vaccines without parental consent. The Golden State is on the wrong path.
SARS-CoV-2
Reporters and science communicators commonly point to widespread COVID misinformation to explain why so many people are skeptical of vaccines and other infection-control measures. Bad pandemic takes clearly influence the public, but there's much more to the story.
Science journalism is plagued by several critical problems that jeopardize its credibility. If we want the public to be more science-minded, we have to correct these issues sooner rather than later.
In a bid to bolster their flagging anti-biotech agenda, several high-profile activist groups have bizarrely joined the chorus of voices suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 escaped from a lab. The science community needs to make clear that wherever the virus came from, its beginnings do not undermine the safety or efficacy of important biotechnology innovations in food and medicine.
What went wrong during the COVID-19 pandemic? A team of public health researchers recently outlined some of the crucial policy mistakes we made and explained how we might avoid them in the future.
Several superficially plausible arguments against COVID-19 vaccination continue to pop up across the internet, usually phrased as leading questions. Are they as solid as they seem? A little investigation suggests they are mostly speculation.
Research has shown that adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination are very rare. Another large study of VAERS reports strengthens this conclusion.
The media likes to compare COVID-19 outcomes in different states based on carefully selected metrics. A closer look indicates that these match-ups are less compelling than reporters think. This has consequences for the public's trust in science.
Antiviral drugs will be a necessary addition to vaccines to tamp down COVID. Both Pfizer and Merck have drugs in the clinic and they both look good. Roche also has a candidate but things are looking pretty grim. How grim? Better read this.
California Governor Gavin Newsom wants to mandate that public school students get their COVID shots. He's also fighting to exempt the state's correctional officers from a vaccine requirement. Let's examine the consequences of hypocrisy.
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.
Flu season is here. With COVID-19 still wreaking havoc in certain parts of the US, getting a flu shot is more important this year than ever before.