CATEGORY / epidemiology

Back in 2013, I received a humbling email. I was being invited to be a guest on “The Joe Rogan Experience”. Unlike other guests who are brought on for a free-wheeling three hour conversation, however, I was being invited to engage in a specific task: to debate a man named Dr. Peter Duesberg, who was famous for refusing to accept the causal link between infection with the HIV virus and contracting the disease AIDS.

At the time, I was a fan of Rogan’s show. I appreciated his open format, his conversation style, his selection of guests, his open-mindedness, and his intellectual humility. I was also a fan of Rogan the comedian, martial arts commentator, the marijuana liberalization activist, and Rogan the navigator of various self-development strategies about which I would otherwise not know.

Fast forward 10 years and Rogan is now a media behemoth, his podcast attracting more listeners and viewers than does CNN. In the era of COVID, the show seems to have embraced and championed some troubling anti-science positions, has platformed some truly rancid characters, seems to revel in amplifying some tiresome talking points from a particular political ideology, and Rogan himself has made some public statements that make me uncomfortable. (more…)

by Raywat Deonandan, PhD
Epidemiologist & Associate Professor
University of Ottawa
(I add my credentials to these COVID-19 blog posts in case they get shared. I want readers to know that my opinion is supposedly an educated and informed one)

As I write this, much of the Northern hemisphere has been struck with a wave of multiple childhood respiratory diseases, COVID-19, RSV, and influenza prime among them. Pediatric hospitals are being overrun. Right now in Ontario, we are beyond 100% capacity, with (I’m told) some ICU beds doubling up kids:

One proposal to help slow the traffic into the ERs is to reinstate masking in most, if not all, public indoor settings. This possibility has triggered that tired debate of (a) whether masks work at all, and (b) whether they are harmful at all. (more…)

by Raywat Deonandan, PhD
Epidemiologist & Associate Professor
University of Ottawa
(I add my credentials to these COVID-19 blog posts in case they get shared. I want readers to know that my opinion is supposedly an educated and informed one)

As I write this, I have a sick child at home to whom I am giving solo care, have pulled multiple all-nighters this week, and have an enormous document due tomorrow. And yet I’m taking the time to write this brief blog post because some journalists have tagged me in an ongoing discussion about the latest COVID-19 vaccine nothing-burger “scandal”. Please understand if my patience seems strained, as I am running on fumes today. (more…)

by Raywat Deonandan, PhD
Epidemiologist & Associate Professor
University of Ottawa
(I add my credentials to these COVID-19 blog posts in case they get shared. I want readers to know that my opinion is supposedly an educated and informed one)

Today’s topic is just what the title suggests: taking a closer look at some of the studies/documents that are currently driving the anti-vaccine agenda. I’ll only look at three such studies in this post, because I only have so much time before my toddler barges into my office demanding that his socks be interchanged –or something equally as critical.  So let’s get to it.

(more…)