November 5th, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Medblogger Shout Outs, News
3 Comments »
This news from Gary Schwitzer’s excellent blog:
Dr. Nancy Snyderman of NBC News appeared on the Today Show with Matt Lauer last week, profiling a physician-author who has written that the best science does not establish a causal link between childhood vaccines and autism. 
Lauer, in a followup question, mis-spoke and called it a “casual” link – not causal. One wonders whether he truly knows what the words mean.
Snyderman talked about how the physician-author, Dr. Paul Offit (author of “Autism’s False Prophets”), has received death threats. Snyderman herself said she had been physically ambushed by those who contend that vaccines cause autism.
As Snyderman was wrapping up the segment, Lauer said – in typical anchor throwaway language:
“Controversial subject …”
Snyderman immediately shot back, “Not controversial subject , Matt. …It’s time for kids to get vaccinated. The science is the science. It’s not controversial.”
You can see the video here or here.
Kudos to Snyderman for educating her big-bucks anchor colleague live on-the-air.
For a full review of Offit’s book, please check out this link.
November 1st, 2008 by Dr. Val Jones in Announcements, Medblogger Shout Outs
1 Comment »
Regular readers of my blog will know that health fraud, misleading product and treatment claims, and deception of vulnerable populations (snake oil for cancer patients, for example) really get under my skin. For this reason, I’ve teamed up with a group of scientists and physicians to create a blog devoted to medical accuracy, transparency, and integrity in health reporting. It’s called Science Based Medicine, and we offer daily exposés of misleading health claims and practices. It’s a great way to learn about how to think critically – and to apply a scientific approach (rather than subjective and anecdotal) to discerning truth from error.
My contribution to the blogging team is to highlight online health fraud, scams, deception and misguided attempts to help consumers “live healthier lives.” I post once a week, every Thursday morning. Please head on over and check it out. It’s a great team of bloggers – and they’re looking out for you!
Here is a list of my recent posts:
A Shruggie Awakening: One Physician’s Journey Toward Scientific Enlightenment
Disintegrating Integrative Medicine: Lessons From Baking
When Further Research Is Not Warranted: The Wisdom of Crowds Fallacy
Knowledge Vs. Expertise: The View From Consumer Land
