Search Results for covid-19

Death of a four-year-old boy in Argentina was due to lung infection, contrary to social media posts implying vaccination was the cause

False and baseless claims that COVID-19 vaccines caused the deaths of apparently healthy people continue to persist online. Many of these claims misrepresent the cause of death and are plainly false, while others are based on anecdotes with no evidence to prove or disprove them. Real-world data show that COVID-19 vaccines effectively prevent severe illness and death. Like any vaccine, COVID-19 can cause side effects, but most of them are mild and transient. The benefits of vaccination outweigh their risks.

The presence of titanium dioxide in face masks hasn’t been associated with toxicity or any health problems

Titanium dioxide is a naturally occurring mineral used as a whitener, matting agent, sunscreen, and more recently as a nanomaterial. It also appears in many synthetic textile fibers used to produce face masks. Its classification as a “possible carcinogen” to humans was a precautionary measure based on data from studies in rats. However, no studies so far have shown a toxic effect of this compound in humans, even at high levels of occupational exposure. While inhalation of high amounts of any fine particulate matter increases the risk of lung problems, current evidence doesn’t suggest that the titanium dioxide present in face masks is released in significant amounts or poses any health risk to people.

What can explain the excess mortality in the U.S. and Europe in 2022?

image source Introduction Every day, people die of many causes: diseases, accidents, violence, or simply old age. The number of deaths in any given country is usually stable from one year to the next. It is thus possible to estimate how many people are expected to die the following year. While changes in a country’s … Continued

Neither medical treatments nor errors are the third leading cause of death in the U.S.

Errors in medical treatment are recognized as a significant cause of death among hospital patients. Such mistakes include surgical errors, missed diagnoses, and drug dosage miscalculations. There have been several studies to investigate the rate of deaths from medical errors in the U.S., which have produced a wide range of estimates. The claim that medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the U.S. is based on an unreliable source and is not in line with more dependable estimates.

Germany-based network of websites and Facebook accounts amplify clickbait content to monetize web traffic via Google AdSense and e-commerce

SUMMARY This investigation, which took place between May and August 2022, shows that a network of German- and English-language Facebook pages are using the platform to build an online following of millions which can be financially exploited. We identified this network by analyzing various open-source information, such as Google Analytics and AdSense codes, web infrastructure, … Continued

Insufficient evidence to support Kanye West’s claim that fluoride in toothpaste harms the pineal gland

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Association of Pediatric Dentistry recommend that children use fluoride-containing toothpaste to fight tooth decay. The pineal gland’s main function is to secrete the hormone melatonin, which helps to regulate our body’s internal clock. Calcium accumulation (calcification) in the pineal gland is a normal process. Fluoride can also accumulate in the pineal gland because it has a high affinity for calcium. At the moment, there isn’t evidence showing that fluoride negatively affects the function of the pineal gland in humans, but more research is needed to improve our understanding of this subject.

Cancer is caused by mutations, not the body’s acidity; eating alkaline foods can’t alter the body’s pH to prevent or treat cancer

Maintaining the body’s acid-base (pH) balance within a constant range is critical for carrying out the biochemical reactions that keep us alive. For this reason, our body keeps the pH within a very narrow range, which can’t be altered by food intake. No evidence indicates that an alkaline diet can prevent or treat cancer, which is caused by mutations in genes, not by body acidity. While tumors are often surrounded by an acidic environment, this is not the cause of cancer but rather a consequence of it.

The claim that medical doctors are more likely to kill than firearms isn’t supported by evidence

Firearms were responsible for 45,222 deaths in 2020 according to the U.S. CDC. Whether people are at a higher risk of dying from visiting a physician than from firearms isn’t possible to determine as reliable estimates of mortality due to medical interventions are lacking. However, a comparison of the risks associated with firearms and medical care need to account for the benefits that medicine undoubtedly offers by way of improving people’s health and life expectancy over the centuries.