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Sandro M.

@srmarcon.bsky.social
79 followers 135 following 63 posts

Literally & figuratively a big fat nerd. Engagement & passion in the face of nihilism. Health & media researcher / Science + Tech Research work: scholar.google.ca/citations?user=89… Image by Mu Pan

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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
New research! with @caulfieldtim.bsky.social Canadian press portrayed unvaccinated/vaccination very differently over 2023-2025 Covid focused articles = major focus on political debates; unvaccinated not a serious risk Measles articles = major focus on vaccine importance doi.org/10.1080/2164...
doi.org
How the unvaccinated have been portrayed in the urban English-language Canadian popular press since the declared end of the COVID-19 pandemic emergency
Since the WHO declared the end of the COVID-19 emergency in May 2023, public vaccination remains a complex issue intertwined with politicization and misinformation. This research article examined h...
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Our new research in @plos.org shows how #sunscreen misinformation drives, on average, the high amounts of audience engagement. Great collab with @marcozenone.bsky.social @cherylepeters.bsky.social @caulfieldtim.bsky.social #health #cancer #skincare #wellness journals.plos.org/digitalhealt...
journals.plos.org
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Nancy Karreman @karremannancy.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
New paper out! 📢 The #wellness industry is a multi-trillion $ force: selling products, shaping norms, and now influencing policy. But it's rarely analysed in the way we scrutinize tobacco or pharma. We apply a commercial determinants of health lens to wellness, including #MAHA. Short thread 🧵⤵️
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Jonathan Jarry @jonathanjarry.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
My latest for @mcgilloss.bsky.social is a weighty tome: the hallmarks of pseudoscience. I'm very proud of it. Lots to chew on. W/ help from the amazing @nbtiller.bsky.social @mrmmarsh.bsky.social @caulfieldtim.bsky.social & Dr. Alice Howarth of @skepticswithak.org. www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/...
mcgill.ca
The Hallmarks of Pseudoscience
I’ve been investigating pseudoscientific claims for 13 years now. The word “pseudoscience” means “fake science,” something that superficially looks like science—and is often sold as such—but that isn’...
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies... Our team's health misinformation audit on popular and free AI chatbots found nearly 50% of responses were problematic. Link: bmjopen.bmj.com/content/16/4... Team: @nbtiller.bsky.social; @marcozenone.bsky.social; @caulfieldtim.bsky.social, et al.
bmjopen.bmj.com
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Nice to see our AI chatbout audit on health misinformation getting coverage in NBC News. AI chatbots are giving people alternatives to chemotherapy, study finds www.nbcnews.com/health/healt... #health #misinformation #AI
nbcnews.com
AI chatbots are giving people alternatives to chemotherapy, study finds
Popular artificial intelligence programs told users where to find alternative, potentially dangerous treatments for cancer and other health scenarios.
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Timothy Caulfield @caulfieldtim.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Our new study explored how well various AI chatbots responded to health questions on various topics. Sum: not great. Nearly half (49.6%) of responses were problematic. See study: bmjopen.bmj.com/content/16/4... via @bmj.com
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Polling Canada @canadianpolling.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
"Which is closer to your view about Covid?" We were right to have strict measures in place to stop the spread: 53% The response to Covid was probably too heavy-handed: 30% Covid was a hoax and we should never have altered our lives: 10% Research Co. / March 17, 2026
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Health-related snippets in the #rogan and #polievre conversation. #joerogan JR: you know what I found out about maple syrup, It’s actually a super food and is actually better for you than honey PP: is that right? JR: ya, it contains a bunch of polyphenols, and a bunch of like, healthy nutrients
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Enter Buck Mulligan
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Face of the day: Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Concern among patients and licensed practitioners around BC's plan to reduce regulations on Chinese medicine. Weak move from the province to further reduce regulations in a space where regulation is already too lax. #britishcolumbia #canada #health #wellness www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...
ctvnews.ca
‘Would you dare take it?’: Plan to deregulate Chinese medicine in B.C. sparks outcry
Tom Whitfield takes a ferry from Nanaimo to a traditional Chinese medicine clinic in downtown Vancouver every Monday for acupuncture and other treatment.
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Timothy Caulfield @caulfieldtim.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Please, we need REAL regulation of supplement marketing! See: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... by (my great colleague) @srmarcon.bsky.social 🙏 "Offering the veneer of regulatory oversight is not only wasteful but can further validate inaccurate & exploitative product claims..."
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Timothy Caulfield @caulfieldtim.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
After unprecedented autism-vaccine messaging change, scientists, CDC no longer trustworthy www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va... @pauloffit.bsky.social: CDC has devolved into “a propaganda machine for RFK Jr.'s fixed, immutable, science-resistant theories." "...a tragic day for public health."
cidrap.umn.edu
After unprecedented autism-vaccine messaging change, scientists, advocates say CDC no longer trustworthy
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Timothy Caulfield @caulfieldtim.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
To again paraphrase Nigel Tufnel... "How much more dark could this be? And the answer is none. None more dark." Yet more horrifying nonsense...👇 CDC website changed to include false claims that link autism & vaccines www.cnn.com/2025/11/20/h...
cnn.com
CDC website changed to include false claims that link autism and vaccines | CNN
Scientific information on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website was replaced on Wednesday with anti-vaccine talking points that don’t rule out a link between vaccines and autism,...
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Timothy Caulfield @caulfieldtim.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Those marketing (totally bunk) "stem cell" supplements love lean on meaningless wellness-woo phrases, like natural, GMO-free, pure, organic, toxin-free... Science-y nonsense + wellness nonsense = BS Supergroup! Our study: www.cell.com/stem-cell-re... cc @stemcellnetwork.ca @isscr.org
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Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 27/09/2025
"Cracker Barrel Outrage Was Almost Certainly Driven by Bots, Researchers Say" gizmodo.com/cracker-barr...
gizmodo.com
Cracker Barrel Outrage Was Almost Certainly Driven by Bots, Researchers Say
Doesn't that make more sense than lots of people caring about Cracker Barrel?
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Update from the clown car!
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Stem cells wildly and recklessly promoted in #alternativemedicine and #wellness worlds by @drkatiesuleta.bsky.social "Stem cell clinics essentially market themselves as the “We can cure your (insert condition, disease, concern here).” www.acsh.org/news/2025/09...
acsh.org
Stem Cell Therapies: The Truth Behind Wellness Scams
Stem cells made a public splash with large research breakthroughs in the 90s and early 2000s. However, since then, stem cells have largely been adopted by the alternative medicine and wellness world a...
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
#CDC data shows that from 2021-2023 ultraprocessed food made up 62% of young people's diets in #America Widespread consumption of real food needed - but a real challenge: cultural norms, price, time, availability, etc. #health #publichealth #diet #nutrition jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com
Ultraprocessed Foods and Health
This Medical News article discusses a new American Heart Association science advisory on ultraprocessed foods, cardiometabolic health, and policy recommendations for improving dietary patterns.
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Governor Tim Walz @governorwalz.mn.gov · 09/09/2025
Vaccines are one of the greatest public health achievements in modern medicine. Protecting access is vital to the health and safety of Minnesotans. www.mprnews.org/story/2025/0...
mprnews.org
Walz counters federal vaccine moves with state-level order to maintain broad access
Minnesota moves to maintain access to vaccines after federal guidance last week ordered limitations on who has access to the COVID-19 booster shot.
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ScienceUpFirst @scienceupfirst.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
#ScienceMatters We all have a role to play in standing up for science. Speak up and share your stories about how false health information is impacting you, Canada, and the world. For the web version of this letter, visit ScienceUpFirst.com #ScienceUpFirst
A letter titled "Science Matters" presenting arguments from Canada's medical, research, clinical and healthcare organizations about the need to counter health misinformation and support science. It includes points debunking popular health misinformation.A letter continues titled "Science Matters" presenting arguments from Canada's medical, research, clinical and healthcare organizations about the need to counter health misinformation and support science. It concludes with a list of signatures from medical, research, clinical, and healthcare organizations who support the contents of the letter.
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Blake Murdoch @blakemurdoch.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
True. And in Canada, NACI’s and the Canadian Pediatric Society’s “you do you” unwillingness to strongly recommend COVID vaccination for children despite @jamapediatrics.com declaring long COVID a leading chronic childhood disease has carried water for the restriction of vaccine access in Alberta.
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Janis Irwin @janisirwin.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
Teachers: we really need supports for complex needs in classrooms, lower class sizes, better working conditions, and appropriate funding UCP: best we can do is a book ban
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Bridget Stirling @bridgetstirling.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
Well, the list of books being banned from EPSB is appalling. And it's very likely that an author on this list will get their other works pulled too, especially in the absence of teacher librarians. There are books on this list that changed my life. This is what the UCP is taking away from kids.
List of books being banned by EPSBList of books being banned by EPSBList of books being banned by EPSBList of books being banned by EPSB
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Timothy Caulfield @caulfieldtim.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
Unbelievable but believable. Ugh. Trump and RFK Jr. to Ban Covid-19 Vaccine ‘Within Months’ www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump... Yet another discredited voice using a discredited “study” (while ignoring a large body of evidence) used to support harmful BS. Dark Age 2.0
thedailybeast.com
Trump and RFK Jr. to Ban Covid-19 Vaccine ‘Within Months’
A close associate of the HHS secretary claims the U.S. government will soon pull COVID-19 mRNA jabs from the market.
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The Breakdown AB @thebreakdownab.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
So... Can we talk about the fact that the Alberta Government has apparently banned COVID-vaccines for kids 12 and under? (Unless they have a serious health condition) This is in direct contradiction with the NACI guidelines. #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
Scary stuff! 1) Test your home for #radon! Kits are around $200 CAD and money very well spent. 2) If you are exposed to wildfire smoke - MERV up your furnace filtres for those seasons - the higher MERV, the better. Also consider a HEPA air-filter all year round www.ctvnews.ca/health/artic...
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
Vladdy and I have a similar body type. Vladdy and I do not move that body in similar ways. #jays #bluejays
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
Tomorrow #Instagram content from "professionals" will now be indexed (appearing) on Google search results. It's vital for scientists and scientific orgs to be active on social media. The attention wars are heating up. Truth and accuracy have much to lose. thekeyword.medium.com/instagram-to...
thekeyword.medium.com
Instagram to let Google and Bing index public posts from professional accounts
The new update could enhance content discovery in search result pages
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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Vinay Prasad overrode the recommendations of a panel of scientists who said that 2025-2026 COVID19 vaccines should be recommended for everyone over the age of 12 years. COVID19 remains a serious public health threat. He will get people killed. He doesn’t care. His ego wins, always.
abcnews.go.com
FDA vaccine official restricted COVID vaccine approvals against the advice of agency staff
A top official at the Food and Drug Administration recently overruled government scientists on the availability of two COVID-19 vaccines
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Timothy Caulfield @caulfieldtim.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
Sum: NOT experts Members of RFK Jr’s new vaccine committee have published little on vaccines www.science.org/content/arti... "...new panel members have been authors on about 78% fewer vaccine-related papers than the ousted members. 4 new members have published no such papers at all"
science.org
The members of RFK Jr.’s new vaccine committee have published little on vaccines
Purge at immunization panel represents a major loss of expertise, as measured by scientific papers
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
#Vaccines are so politicized that getting access for kids is becoming a challenge in #Canada. Just unreal. As @blakemurdoch.bsky.social writes: "This is a lesson in how to administrate vaccination out of existence without technically banning it." #health edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...
edmontonjournal.com
Opinion: UCP's COVID vaccine cuts put children at serious risk
A policy of ending pediatric COVID vaccination will disable, hospitalize and even kill Albertan children, leaving blood on Smith’s hands.
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Timothy Caulfield @caulfieldtim.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
Science-integrity project will root out bad medical papers ‘and tell everyone’ www.nature.com/articles/d41... via @nature.com @retractionwatch.com "I don’t think anything is more of an immediate threat to people than bad medical research."
nature.com
Science-integrity project will root out bad medical papers ‘and tell everyone’
Group behind Retraction Watch aims to pinpoint the most influential flawed health data.
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Sounds good from #TikTok to block hashtags "promoting disordered eating and unhealthy weight loss behaviours" But a decade ago #Instagram banned pro anoxeria hashtags with little impact: www.wired.com/story/instag... Will this moderation work? #health #socialmedia www.cbc.ca/news/tiktok-...
cbc.ca
TikTok blocks #SkinnyTok due to extreme weight loss, disordered eating content | CBC News
TikTok has banned the hashtag SkinnyTok from its platform after noting an increase in extreme weight loss and disordered eating content being posted under the hashtag. Search results for the term now ...
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
New piece out on research with @marcozenone.bsky.social "Google is enabling an advertising option that contributes to the harmful spread of inaccurate and damaging cancer misinformation." CC: @caulfieldtim.bsky.social, @blakemurdoch.bsky.social theconversation.com/google-searc...
theconversation.com
Google searches for information about cancer lead to targeted ads from alternative clinics
Alternative cancer clinics spent over an US$15 million on Google ad spaces, generating millions of website visits from people searching for cancer information.
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Delthia Ricks @dricks.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
RFK Jr ends #Covid vaccine recommendations for healthy kids & pregnant women. He announced the change in a video posted on the hell-scape known as X. His announcement comes as a new Covid variant has begun circulating in the US. NB.1.8.1 has been surging in China www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdi...
medpagetoday.com
CDC Ends COVID Vaccine Recs for Healthy Kids, Pregnant Women
RFK Jr. announced the change in a video posted to X
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Yikes
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
As commented below by @davidmalakoff.bsky.social (/2): Women are PIs on 58% of the canceled grants, although they are PIs on only 34% of all active NSF grants. Similarly, Blacks are PIs on 17% of the terminated grants, although they make only 4% of the total pool.
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
New word: Twee Meaning: excessively or affectedly quaint, pretty, or sentimental
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Setting the example - for your health!
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André Picard @picardonhealth @picardonhealth.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
Time to make more #pharmacare deals after election stalled momentum. To date Ottawa secured agreements with only four jurisdictions: MB, BC, YK, PEI, by @danyaalraza.com @monikadutt.bsky.social www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/0... via @hilltimeshealth.bsky.social
hilltimes.com
Time to make more pharmacare deals after election stalled momentum
Before the campaign, Ottawa secured agreements with only four jurisdictions: Manitoba, British Columbia, Yukon, and Prince Edward Island.
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Timothy Caulfield @caulfieldtim.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
I wrote this months ago. Already it is depressingly & urgently more relevant. Politics & vaccine misinformation: A horrifyingly bad mix healthydebate.ca/2024/09/topi... @healthydebate.bsky.social Health bunk increasingly about politics. Needed: evidence-informed strategies to counter this trend.
healthydebate.ca
Politics and vaccine misinformation: A horrifyingly bad mix - Healthy Debate
Antivaccine beliefs reside most often on the political right. We must confront this reality and devise evidence-informed strategies to counter this trend.
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Mary Feeney @mkfeeney.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
For the last 3 yrs, I was the director for the Science of Science program at the NSF. We funded projects on science communication - science communication to the public, communication of public priorities to scientists, citizens engagement & participation in science. 🧵
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
I don't know if I'll ever tire of revisiting Miles Davis' 1970-1974 patchwork "Get up with it" comp-album. The first track, "He loved him madly" especially is just so haunting, entincing, beguiling. Magic. #worktunes #soundtrack #deskjams #stata #regressionanalysis #stats
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Dr. Hall announces retirement - a senior investigator at the #NIH conducting some of the world’s only controlled trials on ultraprocessed foods. “Events have made me question whether NIH continues to be a place where I can freely conduct unbiased science." #MAGA #MAHA www.cnn.com/2025/04/16/h...
cnn.com
Top NIH nutrition researcher studying ultraprocessed foods departs, citing censorship under Kennedy | CNN
When President Donald Trump named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his choice to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services, one group of health researchers was cautiously optimistic that their cause...
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Barack Obama @barackobama.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions - rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking steps to make sure students can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope others follow suit.
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Sandro M. @srmarcon.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
"Despite the lack of evidence, many doctors began prescribing GLP-1 medications off-label for their type 1 patients, especially those who also have obesity." Safe to say consumer demand was likely a big factor. www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/h... #ozempic #mounjaro #health #diabetes #obesity #weightloss
cnn.com
More people with type 1 diabetes are using GLP-1 drugs, study finds, despite limited evidence on safety or effectiveness | CNN
The use of drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound in people with type 1 diabetes has risen sharply over the past decade, a new study finds, even though there’s little information on the drugs’ safety...
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 07/04/2025
What if COVID doesn't just make sick, but makes us easier to infect? Experts say the virus is chipping away at our immune systems. But some aren’t convinced. I spoke with doctors, scientists, and parents caught in a relentless cycle of illness, and here's what I found:
canadianaffairs.news
Is COVID quietly sabotaging our immune systems?
Experts are increasingly coalescing around the view that COVID has weakened our immune systems, leaving us vulnerable to other infections
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Andrea Love, PhD | Biomedical Scientist @drandrealove.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
DID YOU KNOW? Vaccines are PREVENTIVE HEALTHCARE? I know. 🤯
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