FSM News and Articles
The NSW ‘lockdown’ that isn’t while putting business before people: A ‘lockdown’ strategy that does not involve lockdown, a vaccine distribution policy that is dangerously inconsistent and COVID-19 testing facilities that cannot meet the demand generated by public health orders, are but some of the problems responsible for the continuing explosion of COVID-19 cases in Sydney.
FSM Friends’ News and Articles
Worried about AstraZeneca? Me too. The way we think about risk might be the problem: “I know the risk pales in comparison to others I take every day, yet I am worried about getting a blood clot and dying. The answer to why this is reveals how our brains think about risk. And how they often get it wrong.”
General
Celebrity “vegan cardiologist” Dr. Joel Kahn has become an anti-vaccine COVID-19 crank: “Dr. Joel Kahn is a well-regarded “integrative” cardiologist. So why is he spreading COVID-19 and anti-vaccine disinformation on Twitter? Simple. “Integrative” medicine can be a “gateway” to anti-vaccine beliefs.”
Laboratory tests commonly used in complementary and alternative medicine – a review of the evidence: “The complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) community promote and sell a wide range of tests, many of which are of dubious clinical significance. Many have little or no clinical utility and have been widely discredited, whilst others are established tests that are used for unvalidated purposes… Results of ‘CAM tests’ are often accompanied by extensive clinical interpretations which may recommend, or be used to justify, unnecessary or harmful treatments. “
Vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation:
Q: How effective are the COVID-19 vaccines against the Delta variant?
A: Very.
100% of unvaccinated people would have been hospitalised after a COVID-19 infection. 80% are protected from hospitalisation after one dose and 96% are protected after two doses. The primary goal of a vaccination program is to protect the individual being vaccinated from getting seriously unwell or dying. All the COVID-19 vaccines available in Australia achieve that goal really well. In addition, they also reduce the risk of you getting sick at all, AND they reduce the risk of you passing it on to others. So if and when you are able to get one, do so! And don’t forget the second dose – protection really kicks in two weeks after the second dose.