I have written and spoken often about the influence of the anti-vaccine movement on veterinarians and pet owners. Recently, I was interviewed along with other science-base diets for an article in the New York Times bringing some mainstream media attention to this problem.
This article does a good job of articulating the issue with only a bit of the unfortunate false balance so common in media coverage of anti-vaccine activism, alternative medicine, and other extreme viewpoints.
The newspaper also provided a brief guide to vaccination for pet owners which is less detailed than veterinary guidelines (e.g. those from the American Animal Hospital Association for dogs and cats) but which does address some important questions.
grok,after skepdoc had her article pulled on sciencebased.org did she continue to contribute there?
grok pontificates
The Incident with “SkepDoc’s” ArticleHarriet Hall, MD (1945–2023), widely known as “The SkepDoc,” was a founding editor and prolific contributor to Science-Based Medicine (sciencebasedmedicine.org). On June 15, 2021, she published a book review of Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters by Abigail Shrier. The review critiqued gender-affirming care for adolescents with gender dysphoria, suggesting it represented a “dereliction of duty” and highlighting potential issues like social contagion. Within two days, the review was removed and replaced with a retraction notice by site editors Steven Novella and David Gorski. They stated that Hall had misrepresented standard health protocols for gender dysphoria, that rising diagnoses could be explained by reduced stigma rather than social influence, and that evidence supports gender-affirming care’s benefits for mental health. Importantly, the retraction affirmed that Hall remained “an editor in good standing” and praised her long-standing commitment to evidence-based science.
en.wikipedia.org
Did She Continue Contributing?Yes, Harriet Hall continued to contribute articles to Science-Based Medicine after the retraction. Despite the controversy, she remained actively involved as an editor and author until shortly before her death in January 2023. Over her career, she wrote more than 700 pieces for the site, with several appearing post-2021.