Timothy Caulfield
banner
caulfieldtim.bsky.social
Timothy Caulfield
@caulfieldtim.bsky.social
Professor of health law and science policy, author, speaker, and commentator. #ScienceUpFirst

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/caulfieldtim
Reposted by Timothy Caulfield
Canada has lost its measles elimination status after more than 25 years, despite evidence of efficacy and safety for the vaccines. 👇
scienceupfirst.com/public-healt...

#ScienceUpFirst

🧵1/2
November 13, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Real risks vs proven & simple safety measure (pasteurization)?

Raw milk linked to 21 E coli, Campylobacter www.cidrap.umn.edu/campylobacte...

"Groups at higher risk for severe illness include infants and young children, pregnant women, elderly individuals, those with weakened immune systems."
Raw milk linked to 21 E coli, Campylobacter infections in Florida
Seven people have been hospitalized, and severe complications have been reported for at least two cases.
www.cidrap.umn.edu
November 18, 2025 at 5:52 PM
How adolescents can become resilient to digital misinformation www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

"Teenagers tend to respond more strongly to emotional messages than adults do.

Misinformation often takes advantage of this by using emotions such as fear, anger or outrage to spread quickly."
How Adolescents Can Become Resilient to Digital Misinformation
Young people are particularly susceptible to misleading information on social media. Yet insights from developmental psychology show that they also have unique strengths to build resilience. In new re...
www.universiteitleiden.nl
November 18, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Sum: don't.

Would you put period blood on your face? What science says about ‘menstrual masking’ theconversation.com/would-you-pu...

"Menstrual masking sits at the intersection of body positivity, cultural ritual and pseudoscience."
Would you put period blood on your face? What science says about ‘menstrual masking’
The social media trend ‘menstrual masking’ claims period blood can rejuvenate skin. Some call it spiritual, others pseudoscience – here’s what research says.
theconversation.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Breast Cancer and Birth Control: A Huge New Study Shows How Science Can Be Distorted kffhealthnews.org/news/article... via @kff.org

"TikTok is flooded with factually incomplete warnings that contraceptives cause cancer and are as dangerous as smoking."
Breast Cancer and Birth Control: A Huge New Study Shows How Science Can Be Distorted - KFF Health News
The study sought to answer questions about how breast cancer risk differs by type of hormonal contraceptive. Doctors say the results won’t change how they counsel patients.
kffhealthnews.org
November 18, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Reposted by Timothy Caulfield
🚨 My new piece: increasingly, vaccine hesitancy tied to political identity www.thestar.com/opinion/cont... via @thestar.com

Vaccines are a wedge issue, exploited by politicians to garner votes, by political commentators to build brands and by online influencers to get clicks.

#VaccinesWork
On measles and vaccines, Canada can’t keep ignoring the elephant in the room
Study after study has shown that political affiliation is one of the single strongest predictors of vaccination status.
www.thestar.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Trump and RFK Jr. are mulling their most disruptive vaccine policies yet — alarming manufacturers www.statnews.com/2025/11/18/t... via @statnews

🚨 Key: Suggested policy changes, about schedule & ingredients, "run contrary to evidence around their safety and efficacy."

#ScienceMatters
Trump and RFK Jr. are mulling their most disruptive vaccine policies yet — alarming manufacturers
Trump and Kennedy are considering removing aluminum from vaccines and breaking up shots that protect against multiple diseases.
www.statnews.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Needed: healthy skepticism but not cynicism

(Media Attention to) Misinformation Can Undermine Trust in Scientists link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Supports "concerns that not only misinformation but also its coverage contribute to epistemic uncertainty by eroding confidence in credible sources"
(Media Attention to) Misinformation Can Undermine Trust in Scientists - Political Behavior
Could news coverage of misinformation be harmful? Across two studies on U.S. citizens, we examine whether news coverage of misinformation generates misperceptions and decreases levels of trust in info...
link.springer.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Ottawa, tomorrow! Hope to see you there!

How to Escape the Fake: Making Good Policy in the Age of Misinformation irpp.org/irpp-event/f... via @irpp.org
How to Escape the Fake: Making Good Policy in the Age of Misinformation - IRPP
Join us for an evening of dialogue and networking with Canada’s dynamic public policy community.   This year’s IRPP fall lecture will feature Canadian author and scholar Timothy Caulfield, one of Nort...
irpp.org
November 17, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Study: People are more susceptible to misinformation with realistic AI-synthesized images that provide strong evidence to headlines misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/peop...

"...generative AI image models could lead to increased misinformation susceptibility."
People are more susceptible to misinformation with realistic AI-synthesized images that provide strong evidence to headlines | HKS Misinformation Review
The development of artificial intelligence (AI) allows rapid creation of AI-synthesized images. In a pre-registered experiment, we examine how properties of AI-synthesized images influence belief in m...
misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu
November 17, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Northern Alberta municipality wants federal government to allow on-farm sale of raw milk www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Me: "It’s absolutely clear that pasteurized milk is safer. There's just no doubt about it. And there's very little evidence to suggest that raw milk is healthier for you."
Northern Alberta municipality wants Ottawa to allow on-farm sale of raw milk | CBC News
A municipality in northwest Alberta plans to put forward a resolution at the Rural Municipalities of Alberta Convention calling on Ottawa to legalize the on-farm sale of raw, unpasteurized dairy produ...
www.cbc.ca
November 17, 2025 at 1:19 PM
U of C doctor says study shows for-profit diagnostic screening will lead to unintended problems calgaryherald.com/news/local-n... w @bradenmannsyyc.bsky.social

"Blindly increasing access to medical tests will lead to wasted resources, higher anxiety ... the creation of a two-tiered system"
U of C doctor says study shows for-profit diagnostic screening will lead to unintended problems
"We're going to prey on people's anxieties," says doctor who studied increased cardiac imaging in Alberta in the late 1990s.
calgaryherald.com
November 16, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Understanding the impact of misinformation on adolescents www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Adolescents = changes that "can increase vulnerability to misinformation through social influence, emotional manipulation and cognitive biases..."
Understanding the impact of misinformation on adolescents - Nature Human Behaviour
Adolescents are especially vulnerable to misinformation but also possess unique strengths. This Perspective outlines a forward-looking research agenda to understand these vulnerabilities and foster re...
www.nature.com
November 16, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Why the chemtrail conspiracy theory lingers & grows – and why Tucker Carlson is talking about it theconversation.com/why-the-chem...

"Conspiracies are dramatic & exciting, with clear lines of good & evil, whereas real life is boring & sometimes scary."

Needed: "better ways to embrace uncertainty"
Why the chemtrail conspiracy theory lingers and grows – and why Tucker Carlson is talking about it
A communications researcher lays out the dynamics of conspiracy theory belief and why they gain traction in times of anxiety and uncertainty.
theconversation.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Dog owners now worry vaccines will cause "pawtism?"

We need to understand the role of political identity in the spread of vaccine lies (and other health misinformation) and how we can work to counter it.

My new piece...👇
🚨 My new piece: increasingly, vaccine hesitancy tied to political identity www.thestar.com/opinion/cont... via @thestar.com

Vaccines are a wedge issue, exploited by politicians to garner votes, by political commentators to build brands and by online influencers to get clicks.

#VaccinesWork
On measles and vaccines, Canada can’t keep ignoring the elephant in the room
Study after study has shown that political affiliation is one of the single strongest predictors of vaccination status.
www.thestar.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Ayurveda Can Harm Your Liver www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/... via @jonathanjarry.bsky.social

"Many Ayurvedic preparations have been found to contain alarming amounts of heavy metals like arsenic and mercury, which can cause or worsen liver disease"
Ayurveda Can Harm Your Liver
“I know where you live. I know your address. I know who you are. Trust me, they won’t even find your dead body.” This threat was not made privately; rather, it was posted on Twitter and addressed to D...
www.mcgill.ca
November 15, 2025 at 1:28 PM
The protein hype has gotten totally bonkers.

Marketing health halo. Ignore.
November 15, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Reposted by Timothy Caulfield
I got a COVID booster because I continue to see “healthy” people lose their health to COVID and don’t want to risk it happening to me
About 1 in 4 American adults got a covid vaccine shot during the 2024-25 virus season, a fraction health care experts warn could be smaller this year as millions wrestle with conflicting advice from the government and trusted medical orgs about the value of a shot. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
November 15, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Influencers > media OR politicians. Yikes.

Influencers have more reach on 5 major platforms than news media, politicians: report toronto.citynews.ca/2025/11/13/i...

"More than two-thirds of younger Canadians engage with political content from influencers..."
Influencers have more reach on 5 major platforms than news media, politicians: report
More than two-thirds of younger Canadians engage with political content from influencers — and influencers have significantly more reach on five major social media platforms than news media outlets or...
toronto.citynews.ca
November 14, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Americans are injecting themselves with unproven peptides abcnews.go.com/Health/wireS...

"...peptides being promoted by influencers, celebrities and wellness gurus are different: Many have never been approved for human use..."

@erictopol.bsky.social: "None of them are proven."
Americans are injecting themselves with unproven peptides
More Americans are turning to peptides for muscle building, skin rejuvenation, and to try and live longer even though the substances aren’t FDA approved
abcnews.go.com
November 14, 2025 at 6:55 PM
"Young people’s risk of developing myocarditis is higher and longer lasting after covid-19 infection than after vaccination against it, the largest study of its kind..."

Covid-19: Major study compares myocarditis risk in children after vaccination or infection www.bmj.com/content/391/...
Covid-19: Major study compares myocarditis risk in children after vaccination or infection
Young people’s risk of developing myocarditis is higher and longer lasting after covid-19 infection than after vaccination against it, the largest study of its kind suggests.1 The research—based on w...
www.bmj.com
November 14, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Reposted by Timothy Caulfield
Almost half of all Americans are hesitant to vaccinate their dogs.

Their primary concern?

Dog autism.

- @caulfieldtim.bsky.social

www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
On measles and vaccines, Canada can’t keep ignoring the elephant in the room
Study after study has shown that political affiliation is one of the single strongest predictors of vaccination status.
www.thestar.com
November 14, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Needle phobic? Nasal spray flu vaccine allays fear but has limited access in Canada healthydebate.ca/2025/11/topi... via @healthydebate.bsky.social

Me: "We shouldn’t underplay the role of needle phobia in this context, but I’m curious how the anti-vaxxers are going to frame this."
Needle phobic? Nasal spray flu vaccine allays fear but has limited access in Canada - Healthy Debate
Canadians who avoid the flu shot because they fear needles have an alternative that won’t make them hold their breath until it’s over.
healthydebate.ca
November 14, 2025 at 4:09 PM
🚨 My new piece: increasingly, vaccine hesitancy tied to political identity www.thestar.com/opinion/cont... via @thestar.com

Vaccines are a wedge issue, exploited by politicians to garner votes, by political commentators to build brands and by online influencers to get clicks.

#VaccinesWork
On measles and vaccines, Canada can’t keep ignoring the elephant in the room
Study after study has shown that political affiliation is one of the single strongest predictors of vaccination status.
www.thestar.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Reposted by Timothy Caulfield
Despite RFK Jr's claim of “radical transparency”,

there was no media and no live streaming at yesterday's MAHA Summit…but there was no shortage of woo and quacks 🦆🦆

and swag bags featured creatine and beef tallow cooked chips..

www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/m...
Creatine-filled swag bags and an embrace from Vance: MAHA marks its ascendance in Trump’s Washington
Creatine-filled swag bags and an embrace from Vance: MAHA marks its ascendance in Trump’s Washington.
www.statnews.com
November 13, 2025 at 6:19 PM