The Herd Immunity Fallacy
During the pandemic and in the wake of recent measles outbreaks, many have pointed to the concept of “herd immunity” as a key reason to get vaccinated. This cartoon highlights how herd immunity is sometimes oversimplified or misapplied in discussions about vaccination. What Is Herd Immunity? When you think of a herd, you probably think […]
When Believing the Health Authorities Requires Denying Obvious Realities
[Earlier this month], The Daily Sceptic published two articles reviewing some studies purported to show COVID-19 vaccines are useful for countering so-called long-COVID, lingering symptoms after COVID infection. The conclusion of the author, who is an ex-senior scientist with the U.K. government, is that the vaccinations do not in fact prevent those symptoms. In addition, […]
Israeli Vaccine Chief: “We Have Made Mistakes”
A lot of our knowledge… epidemiological knowledge, immunological knowledge… has shown that the more the population is exposed to a pathogen, the more it becomes resistant because your immune system learns. … There is a term for that, isn’t there… that people used to use? Herd immunity. … It’s been such an interesting story, Israel, […]
Why Aren’t We Celebrating the Naturally Immune?
Opinion | At the beginning of this pandemic, I heard the term herd immunity a lot. Scientists and news anchors used to theorize about what percentage of society would have to come in contact with the virus in order to obtain herd immunity. We know that 40 million people have tested positive for COVID in […]
Sweden’s Different Response to COVID-19 Based on Mutual Respect and Trust
Story Highlights Unlike most other countries, Sweden has not enforced nationwide lockdowns and home quarantines to combat the spread of COVID-19, instead relying on individual citizens to voluntarily follow the government’s suggested guidelines for social distancing to protect the vulnerable. So far, both the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths are higher in Sweden than […]
Vaccines are Kind of Like the Emperor’s New Clothes
Whether or not one supports the removal of religious exemptions to vaccination, the discussion about the issue should at least be accurate and honest. Sadly, agenda-driven hyperbole has hijacked the narrative in recent years, and oft-repeated mistruths have evolved to become widely-accepted dogma that may not be questioned. It is time to call out the […]