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.
COVID
It's no secret that yet another nasty COVID variant has emerged; omicron is spreading even faster than delta and there will be consequences. And other variants will surely emerge. Where? Impossible to say, but its name will be pi. Should this happen in the US, we might get stuck with a catchy, but unwanted name.
The last month has divided conventional wisdom. If cases continue to decline, the pandemic might be on its way out. If they trend upward, another winter surge might be on its way. Here we look for clues from data [1] through November 15, focusing on vaccination.
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.
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.
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.
YouTube announced last week that it's banning a number of high-profile anti-vaccine activists from its platform. The policy shift is meant to stem the spread of misinformation, but it raises some troubling questions. Most important among them: is more censorship worth the cost it imposes on society?
The anti-GMO movement is gradually campaigning itself into irrelevance. Unfortunately, this positive trend has been slowed by public universities that pay activists exorbitant speaking fees to promote their questionable ideas. This is but one example of taxpayers subsidizing ideological advocacy with potentially serious consequences.
Some experts have argued that America's expensive, inefficient health care system is to blame for our intense vaccine hesitancy. While this is a plausible explanation, it misses the key problem—the politicization of medicine, along with almost everything else in our culture.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed has again flouted the pandemic-control measures she previously insisted everyone else follow. She's a hypocrite for doing so, but her behavior illustrates an important lesson about the risk posed by COVID-19.