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Epidemiological Podcast S0E2: The Weight of the Evidence
Posted on July 12, 2017
On today’s podcast, I talk to you about a recent tragedy in our family and how it helped me understand anti-vaccine parents a little more. Not completely, but just enough to realize that there is very little in the way of a debate that one can have with them.
See, When people who don’t believe that vaccines save lives tell you that there is no evidence that vaccines are safe, they’re either misinformed or lying. On the flip side, when they tell you that there is evidence that vaccines cause autism, they’re either misinformed or lying again. There is plenty of evidence for both arguments out there, but only one set of “studies” pass the biological plausibility test (not to say anything about ethics).
However, because an injury (perceived or real) to a child triggers such a deep-seeded, primal reaction, it’s hard to be logical or reasonable. When parents see autism as death (when it’s not), their search for answers becomes chaotic and full of inferences that are misguided. Anti-vaccine people looking to make a buck take advantage of that, and then we’re off to the races on trying to stop further harm, encourage critical thinking, and have an actual debate based on facts.
In about 33 minutes, I tell you about the different kinds of studies out there, and I explain to you why we cannot do a vaccinated vs. unvaccinated study like the antivaxxers want, but we’ve done plenty of vaccinated vs. unvaccinated studies in an ethical and scientific way.
Epidemiological Podcast S0E1: The Perfect Epidemiological Surveillance System
Posted on July 2, 2017
Today, I thought I’d share with you a 15-minute presentation I gave in Mexico City last about two weeks ago. It was on a paper I wrote based off a previous blog post. I talk about what I imagine to be the perfect system for keeping track of the population’s health… That is, if money, technology, laws, and ethical considerations were not in the way of such things.
Yes, I’m giving the podcast a season and names. The first season runs from now until the end of the year and will be season zero, along with previous episodes. Kind of like “the lost season” if you will. Then, starting in 2018, I’ll have a first season of six podcasts with pre-planned topics and a little more preparation. You guys deserve it… And it’s a good way to be just creative enough to be doing something but not too busy to forget about the dissertation (which should be almost done when 2017 ends and 2018 begins).
Talking Tuesday on a Friday: June Update!
Posted on June 2, 2017 3 Comments
A few minutes where I catch you up on the craziness around me. Nothing bad, mostly good… Thanks for your time. Hope you enjoy it.
Podcast: October 2016 Update
Posted on October 4, 2016 4 Comments
Yeah, yeah… It’s been a while. I missed you too. Here’s 12 minutes of me catching you up on what happened this summer with dad getting cancer, me picking up cycling and swimming, and taking some exams. Also, there is something about Puerto Rico and Zika in there. As always, you can just download it […]
Talking Tuesday: Catch-Up Edition
Posted on May 17, 2016 2 Comments
The best kinds of friends are those who you can lose contact with for months and then catch-up with quickly over some coffee or hot tea or hot chocolate… Or a beer. In this episode, I try to catch-up with you after being gone a while.
EpidemioLogical 