Latest Video
Latest Blog Posts
Visualizing contagion: how infectious is delta?
Just how contagious is delta? These visualizations show how much faster the virus can spread.
A major ivermectin study has signs suggestive of scientific fraud
Ivermectin has been promoted as a miracle cure for COVID-19. One of the main studies used to support this claim has signs suggestive of scientific fraud.
Some vaccinated people are getting COVID. What does this mean?
Delta is here and headlines are reporting the rise in new cases and hospitalizations, including some who have been fully vaccinated. What does this mean for vaccine efficacy? The answer is not as simple as it may seem: this post digs into the math and explains how to put breakthrough infections into context.
Pandemic contradictions: a sign of false information
One of the reasons false information and pandemic rumors can be so confusing and exhausting is the high degree of self-contradiction. Here are a few examples of common pandemic rumors that oppugn themselves.
Are COVID vaccines killing thousands of people?
Are thousands of people dying from COVID vaccines? These rumors have been circulating for a while and are based on a misunderstanding of causation, correlation, and the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Here’s a quick explanation of what VAERS is and isn’t, and why the rumors that the vaccines are killing thousands isn’t true.
What do we do when experts disagree?
A friend of mine recently asked me how I respond to people who have opposing views about scientific issues like vaccines when their sources are from credentialed (MD, PhD) people. This is a great question, and something I encounter all the time. Here are my thoughts.
Dealing with anxiety and OCD during the pandemic
Understatement of the year: the stress, conflict, and uncertainty of the last year has had a profound impact on mental health. In this post, I interview Dr. Eric Storch, a clinical psychologist who specializes in treating anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). He talks about different ways the pandemic has influenced mental health, and he shares insight on how to deal with the stress and uncertainty of the past year. I found this conversation incredibly helpful; I hope you do too!
Fact-Check: Dr. Mercola’s “How COVID-19 ‘Vaccines’ May Destroy the Lives of Millions”
An article has been widely circulating entitled “How COVID-19 ‘Vaccines’ May Destroy the Lives of Millions,” claiming the COVID mRNA vaccines are experimental gene therapy that could cause major long-term health problems. None of this is true. This post explains why.
Ten COVID mRNA Vaccine Myths Debunked
There is a lot of false information circulating about the COVID vaccines. Here are 10 common vaccine myths circulating online, and why they are false.
When you can never be wrong: the unfalsifiable hypothesis
This post tackles the root of many conspiracy theories: the unfalsifiable hypothesis. Learn what unfalsifiable hypotheses are and how they can trap people into believing conspiracy theories.
Fact-checking Dr. Frank Shallenberger’s COVID Vaccine Letter
There has been a letter circulating written by Dr. Frank Shallenberger emphasizing the uncertainty and alleged danger of the COVID vaccine. However, much of the information is either blatantly false or taken out of context. Dr. Sana Zekri, MD provides a point-by-point response to the claims in the letter.
A scientist looks at the COVID vaccine data
Trying to decide if you’re going to take the COVID vaccine? Me too. And I decided the best way to make that decision was to look through the data for myself. Here is what I found.
Subscribe
By entering your email, you agree to our Privacy Policy.
About
I’m Dr. Kristen Panthagani. I’m an MD-PhD student who holds a PhD in Genetics, and I like to help people understand science. I saw a lot of people getting unnecessarily confused by inaccurate claims flying around, and I started this blog to help clarify some of those things.
Recently Featured In
Though Covid vaccines protect against serious illness, they are not perfect shields against the virus, particularly not the Delta variant. Experts say “breakthrough” infections are still relatively uncommon.
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 23, 2021
Here’s why they occur. https://t.co/rEDD2DMj0U
The @nytimes collected breakthrough data from 40 states. At least until recently, severe COVID infections among fully vaccinated people have been relatively rare.
— Danielle Ivory (@danielle_ivory) August 10, 2021
We also learned that a rising share of breakthrough infections is not necessarily scary.https://t.co/q5zFMoFHxo
Breakthrough cases aren’t the cause of the US Covid-19 surge https://t.co/j20tM5QBIN
— Vox (@voxdotcom) August 3, 2021
Latest Data Updates
People are looking at the percent of vaccinated hospitalizations and getting alarmed. But by itself, this number can't tell you much about how the vaccines are working, as it's highly dependent on the rate of vaccination in a community. Here's some maths to show what I mean👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/MmfiL7H1lw
— Kristen Panthagani, PhD (@kmpanthagani) July 20, 2021