Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), asked ASPR nominee Sean Kaufman about his suggestion in a now-deleted LinkedIn post that countries who gave infants a hepatitis B vaccine at birth had the highest rates of hepatitis B.

"Of course, that was misleading," said Cassidy, who is a hepatologist.

"It was the people who were not vaccinated that had the burden of disease. So your LinkedIn post was either uninformed or deliberately misleading."

Read our full coverage of yesterday's confirmation hearing: https://lnkd.in/eNsz9p65

Claiming damages do not make these real, nor clinically relevant. But it does not change the facts here that mRNA vaccines do prevent COVID aftermaths, always worse post infections than post vaccination.

"Large volumes of vaccines are produced in developing countries, with the three largest Indian producers alone making up more than 40 percent of the global total of vaccine output in 2024.

This is in stark contrast to the financial value of vaccines produced that year.

Here, U.S. pharma companies Merck and Pfizer together made up more than 40 percent of that metric despite only producing around 10 percent of global vaccines.

This is according to the World Health Organizations' Global Vaccine Market Report.

The concentration of earnings is due to the two companies specializing in some expensive vaccines, namely the HPV vaccine against cervical cancer in the case of Merck and pneumococcal vaccinations in the case of Pfizer.

While around 100 million and 350 million of these vaccines were produced in 2024, they were valued at more than more than $9 billion and more than $8 billion, respectively.

At the same time, the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines in the world by volume, the Serum Institute of India, produces the oral polio vaccine as its biggest seller.

In its case, more than 2 billion doses a year bring in only $50 million a year, half of which is bought up by the World Health Organization for use in immunization campaigns around the world.

While the oral polio vaccine is an older immunization that is already out of use in most nations, the HPV and PCV vaccines are newer, having been rolled out in the 2000s.

Merck, Pfizer and other pharma enterprises on the list of the biggest earners from vaccines are clearly profit-oriented companies and also pay for the development and licensing of vaccines.

In contrast, the Serum Institute’s mission is explicitly to produce vaccine at prices “affordable to the common man and in abundance”.

Additionally, the Serum Institute did not develop or buy the rights to the oral polio vaccine as its formula is in the public domain.

It also obtains most of its other licenses for vaccines through agreements with international organizations or institutions."

Source text & graphic Statista

Which social media platforms act as ‘superspreaders’ of hate speech? (Straight Arrow News):

https://lnkd.in/dZbKAbFk

Glimpse: According to a recent study by the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE), TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube react to extremist and offensive content associated with the Identitarian movement very differently. The majority of flagged accounts were deleted from TikTok, while YouTube and Instagram continued to be "superspreaders." Due to laxer content-moderation policies on major platforms, the Identitarian movement, which is associated with extremist violence and the Great Replacement conspiracy theory, has increased its online presence by 70% in recent years. Enforcement discrepancies can be partially explained by policy differences: YouTube has inconsistent hate speech bans, TikTok has more stringent removal criteria, and Meta has narrowed its hate speech regulations. According to GPAHE, inconsistent enforcement makes it possible for terrorist-inspired content to reach millions of people. As a result, platforms are urged to tighten their moderation systems and execute their regulations consistently.

Mandatory reading!

“A narrative has taken hold that science and the humanities are at odds. In universities around the world, investment in cutting-edge technologies often comes at the expense of retrenchment in philosophy, history, literature and the arts. Contraction of the humanities is presented as an unavoidable cost of modernization. But that ‘zero sum’ logic is flawed. As science and technology race ahead, the world needs humanities research to understand the reasons and implications.”

One would think that everything he learned about pseudoscience, he learned from Coast to Coast AM.
#ChemTrails #DARPA #JunkScience #ConspiracyTheory
https://lnkd.in/eXMRHfZt

Dans bien des cas, les #étudiants commencent à consommer l'information immédiatement. Ce n'est que plus tard, voire pas du tout, qu'ils se demandent si elle est fiable. Ce système fonctionnait relativement bien dans un monde où la plupart des #informations provenaient d'éditeurs, de journaux, de chaînes de télévision et de sources reconnues. Elle est beaucoup moins efficace à l'ère des médias synthétiques, des contenus générés par l'#IA, des recommandations algorithmiques et de la #désinformation virale. Aujourd'hui, les étudiants ont besoin d'une nouvelle #habitude : À vérifier avant #consommation.

Extrait 💬 : "Si la dernière décennie nous a appris à questionner l'information, la prochaine décennie pourrait nous obliger à la vérifier avant de la consommer. Cela ne signifie pas pour autant aborder chaque contenu avec cynisme. Cela signifie aborder l'information avec #curiosité."

Source : Cathy Collins, Ed.D.

Video...
Science vs. Misinformation: How to Spot Fake News (Demystifying Medicine McMaster):

https://lnkd.in/dTHZVyBt

Glimpse: In an internet world full with dramatic headlines and social media rumors, this video offers essential techniques for spotting false information and fake news. Dr. Alexander Hall, a specialist in science communication, describes how false information propagates, how to identify dubious sources, and how cognitive biases affect how people understand information. The video provides helpful advice on fact-checking, identifying warning signs, and using critical thinking when analyzing internet content. The film, which was produced by McMaster University students in association with the Demystifying Medicine Program, focuses on providing viewers with science-based skills to navigate the current information landscape and prevent being duped by deceptive or incorrect claims.

Let me ask a few questions.
If vaccines truly caused autism, how would pediatricians have missed it?
I've given thousands upon thousands of vaccines over nearly 30 years. I follow children from birth through adolescence. I'm asked about autism almost every single day. If there were an obvious pattern, don't you think I'd have noticed it?
Now let me ask something else.
Why are pediatricians the ones having this fight?
Why aren't the vaccine manufacturers leading the conversation?
Why isn't the government explaining why it recommends vaccines?
Why aren't school systems, which benefit from healthier children and fewer missed school days, speaking up?
Why aren't health insurers, who save money when diseases are prevented, making the case?
Instead, it falls on the pediatrician sitting in an exam room with one worried family at a time.
The irony is that we're probably the group with the least incentive to do it.
We don't manufacture the vaccines.
We don't set vaccine policy.
We don't run the school systems.
We're simply the people who care for children every day and answer the same difficult questions over and over again.
So maybe ask yourself this:
Why are the people with the least to gain the ones carrying almost the entire burden of defending childhood vaccination? | 17 comments on LinkedIn

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) pressed two of President Donald Trump’s top health nominees on vaccine skepticism and promotion of conspiracy theories and the ongoing politicization of public health and research threatening the health of Americans. During the confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Senator Baldwin pressed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) nominee, Dr. Erica Schwartz, on whether she thinks vaccines are safe and effective and whether political influence and pressure from President Trump would come before the health and safety of Americans.

Senator Baldwin also questioned Trump’s nominee to lead the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Sean Kaufman, on his view of vaccines given his track record promoting the disproven link between safe vaccines and autism and previous statements that he would “rather perish” than allow his child to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Vaccine misinformation began with the first smallpox vaccine in 1796, making it as old as immunology itself. When Dr. Edward Jenner introduced the cowpox-derived inoculation to combat smallpox, it triggered immediate pushback fueled by fear, religious objections, and bizarre rumors. Despite centuries of medical advancement, the core arguments used by modern anti-vaccine movements remain identical to those used during the eradication of smallpox.
McCullough Foundation has not invented the term, nor the strategy. Still the same old stuff…Only new faces…

 📱🧠 In health crises, misinformation spreads faster than the virus itself.

EU discussions emphasize that trust and clear communication are as critical as vaccines, surveillance, or medical response.

Without trust, even good policy fails.

#Misinformation #PublicHealth #TrustInScience #EU #HealthCommunication

📌 https://lnkd.in/dDbdGZT7

The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has declared the country's growing immunization gap a National Public Health Emergency, warning that Pakistan now has an estimated 651,000 "zero-dose" children—children who have not received even their first dose of the DTP1 (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) vaccine.
Citing recent World Health Organization (WHO) data, the PMA warned that the declining vaccination coverage has weakened herd immunity and increased the risk of preventable disease outbreaks. The association urged immediate nationwide action to strengthen routine immunization, improve healthcare access, and rebuild public confidence in vaccination programmes.
Health experts stress that timely immunization remains one of the most effective ways to protect children from life-threatening diseases.
What steps do you think should be prioritized to improve childhood vaccination coverage in Pakistan? Share your thoughts below.
Hashtags
#StartSpace #Pakistan #PublicHealth #Vaccination #Immunization #ChildHealth #WHO #PMA #Healthcare #HealthNews #BreakingNews #CurrentAffairs
AI Disclaimer
Disclaimer: This visual contains AI-generated elements created for illustrative purposes. It is not an authentic photograph of the reported event and is intended solely to visually represent the news based on publicly available information.

What if ? Well here is the truth, it is that SIDS is not related to are vaccines… And while Vejon Health Ltd is trying to hide
the final lie here (trying to blame vaccines), vaccines have nothing to do with SIDS. Nothing at all…
And btw, should the guy rethink how relevant he is ? 1 attendee for this discussion shows how irrelevant he is…

My past article in Politico on fake news seems as relevant as ever: “Fake news is not a new phenomenon. It has been around since news became a concept 500 years ago with the invention of print—a lot longer, in fact, than verified, “objective” news, which emerged in force a little more than a century ago. From the start, fake news has tended to be sensationalist and extreme, designed to inflame passions and prejudices. And it has often provoked violence. The Nazi propaganda machine relied on the same sorts of fake stories about ritual Jewish drinking of childrens’ blood that inspired Prince-Bishop Hinderbach in the 15th century. Perhaps most dangerous is how terrifyingly persistent and powerful fake news has proved to be.”

https://lnkd.in/g7mX2YzB

Did a new study prove that Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine persists in the body for 3.5 years and alters human DNA? 🧬

Following a wave of viral claims, the authors of a controversial single-patient case report have paid to publish their work in the Medical Research Archives (European Society of Medicine).

In my newly updated investigation at Tech ARP, I break down why publishing in a known predatory journal does not validate broken science.

Why the scientific consensus remains unchanged:
1. A Predatory Pay-to-Play System: The European Society of Medicine (ESMED) is widely recognised as a predatory publisher. It bypasses rigorous peer-review and charges up to $3,999 to publish papers that legitimate, indexed databases like MEDLINE and PubMed Central refuse to carry.

2. The Power of One ($N=1$): A single, highly subjective case report of one individual provides zero statistical power and cannot establish causation for billions of vaccinated people.

3. The Missing Baseline: The authors failed to sequence the patient's DNA before vaccination in 2021. The mutations they observed are simply natural background genomic noise accumulated with age.

4. Basic Biology: Vaccine mRNA degrades rapidly in the cytoplasm and is physically locked out of the cell nucleus, making genomic alteration impossible.

Peer-reviewed credentials should not be bought. Learn how to spot predatory science in our complete medical analysis.

👇 Read the full fact-check and see the data breakdown in the first comment below.

#PublicHealth #FactCheck #mRNA #MedicalScience #TechARP #MedEd | 34 comments on LinkedIn

 In this TED talk, anthropologist and VCP founder and director Heidi J. Larson explains how vaccine confidence depends on the
entire trust chain: from science labs to clinics to governments.
Break one link, and confidence weakens.

#VaccineConfidence #PublicHealth #TrustInScience #GlobalHealth #ScienceCommunication
 
https://lnkd.in/dBA5vRiT

True fact. Disinformation is a rising tide that threatens to swamp critical thinking and evidence based information, but finding a solution is a vastly complex and is going to take an awful lot of stakeholders. The points made here are excellent, but I am afraid it's a much broader scope as far as solutions.

https://lnkd.in/ePsEceqE

When headlines turn hostile, truth becomes the first casualty. A calm look at how media attacks shape trust, reputation, and the way we react online.

📖Classroom Reflection: 5 Key Points About Misinformation
Today our group discussed the topic of misinformation and disinformation. Here are the five key points we identified:

1. Speed gives error messages an advantage
Social media spreads false content much faster than traditional media. With just a single click, unverified claims can reach millions before fact-checkers even see them.

2. Intentions do not erase impact
Misinformation and the sharing of errors can be as harmful as false information and malicious sharing. The damage caused by such misinformation whether to reputation, politics, or society is serious, regardless of intent.

3. Personal responsibility is important
Before clicking "Share," we all need to first verify whether the information is true. Checking reliable sources is a small step, but it can greatly reduce the spread of misinformation.

4. Media literacy is no longer optional.
In a digital world saturated with artificial intelligence-generated content, people must develop skills to distinguish credible information from unreliable sources.

5. The platform must be strengthened
Social media companies should invest more in fact-checking and algorithm adjustments to reduce the visibility of questionable content. This is not just a user issue, but a structural one.

Final thoughts:
These five points remind us that addressing misinformation is a shared responsibility among individuals, educators, and platforms. The next time you see a shocking headline, pause and ask: has this been verified? Because in the battle for truth, every conscious click matters.

#Misinformation #Disinformation #MediaLiteracy #ClassReflection #CommunicationStudies

Science depends on trust. Every published paper becomes part of a collective body of knowledge that researchers, regulators, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and the public rely upon. The assumption is that published findings have been generated through rigorous experimentation, careful analysis, and independent peer review. But what happens when that assumption is no longer safe? https://lnkd.in/eM-NMkUj

Pour le virologue belge Bernard Rentier, il est urgent d'investir dans une pédagogie explicite de l’incertitude scientifique au lieu de faire la chasse aux "fausses informations".