Welcome to my world
A Skeptical Raptor’s native environment is the jungles of the internet, where junk science, pseudoscience, myths, logical fallacies, and outright lies survive unchecked. The Raptor has evolved over...
View ArticleMeasles outbreak in United Kingdom–worst since introduction of MMR vaccine
The United Kingdom’s Health Protection Agency (HPA) has announced that a measles outbreak in the Merseyside area is the largest since the MMR vaccine (vaccination for measles, mumps and rubella) was...
View ArticleMaryland proposes new vaccine requirements for students
The Baltimore Sun is reporting that Maryland is proposing revised vaccination regulations that would require incoming kindergartners to receive a chicken pox booster vaccination (varicella vaccine). It...
View ArticleDebunking the “vaccines aren’t tested” myth
There are so many silly memes that have arisen from the anti-vaxxers, all of which have been thoroughly debunked. Everything from the well-worn (and worn-out) “vaccines cause autism” fable, quashed...
View ArticleHow vaccines have reduced diseases in one easy graphic
If there was any doubt about the success of vaccines this graphic shows it clearly. We can eliminate confounding variables such as improved sanitation, since many of these diseases (if not most) are...
View ArticleVaccination coverage in US children,19-35 months–uptake still high
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported in the 2012 National Immunization Survey (NIS) that the majority of children, age 19-35 months, remained extremely high...
View ArticleVaccines aren’t tested–myth vs. science (updated)
There are so many silly memes that have arisen from the vaccine deniers, most of which have been thoroughly debunked. Everything from the well-worn (and worn-out) “vaccines cause autism” fable, which I...
View ArticleDelaying measles vaccination may increase risk of seizures
There is an unscientific myth, pushed by some parts of the vaccine deniers (more accurate, vaccine delayers), that parents should delay vaccinations based on the unsupported belief that “too many...
View ArticleWhy we vaccinate–103 million cases of diseases averted since 1924
For New Year’s Day, I’m republishing the top 10 articles I wrote in 2013. Well, actually top 9, plus 1 from 2012 that just keeps going. #10. This article was published on 3 December 2013, and has had...
View ArticleMeasles, mumps, rubella outbreaks–the culpability of Andrew Wakefield
This week, writer Aaron Carroll provided a graphic depiction of the toll of the antivaccination movement, which itself comes from a Council on Foreign Relations interactive map of “vaccine-preventable...
View ArticleHey vaccine deniers–it’s just simple math. Part deux.
A few days ago, I wrote an article discussing how antivaccination trope inventors could not understand the most basic elements of mathematics in reading a vaccine label. They misinterpreted some simple...
View Article2013-14 vaccine uptake in the USA is still high
Despite the continued social network misinformation about vaccine safety and/or effectiveness, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that the median...
View ArticleAndrew Wakefield – dishonest attempt at self-justification
The Skeptical Raptor, stalking pseudoscience in the internet jungle. The movie Vaxxed is an anti-vaccine polemic that claims, despite all of the high quality contradictory evidence, that there is a...
View ArticleArizona measles outbreak – blame anti-vaccine employees
The Skeptical Raptor, stalking pseudoscience in the internet jungle. Here we go again. Department of Health Services officials in Arizona have reported that 22 confirmed measles cases in the state...
View ArticleVaccines prevented 200 million cases of disease in the USA from 1963 to 2015
The Skeptical Raptor, stalking pseudoscience in the internet jungle. Lest we forget, vaccines are one of the greatest medical inventions of all time. Without them, we would see cemeteries filled with...
View ArticleMeasles epidemic in Europe is killing children – blame anti-vaccine religion
The Skeptical Raptor, stalking pseudoscience in the internet jungle. Maybe some of you haven’t been following the reports about the European measles epidemic, but it’s scary news. The BBC News reported...
View ArticleMMR vaccine sytematic review – science finds no link to autism AGAIN
The Skeptical Raptor, stalking pseudoscience in the internet jungle.With so much sense and nonsense about coronavirus, I set to the side an important MMR vaccine systematic review that I’ve been...
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