COVID-19, fake science, and conspiracy theories

New Rochelle, NY, May 22, 2020–What past scientific fraud is at the heart of some current anti-vaccine and anti-COVID-19 conspiracy theories? Read the details in the Commentary “Fake Science: XMRV, COVID-19, and the Toxic Legacy of Dr. Judy Mikovits.” (in the peer-reviewed journal AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses.

The COVID-19 conspiracy theory put forth by Mikovits is demonstrably untrue, and much of it derives from a scientific fraud she and coworkers perpetrated in 2009.

“There is no legitimate debate to be had on these issues, and any credence given to these dangerous conspiracies will lead to even greater suffering resulting from COVID-19. Steer well clear of Plandemic and the claims of Judy Mikovits,” say authors Stuart Neil, King’s College, London, and Edward Campbell, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago.

Thomas Hope, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses and Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL states: “With the great desire of the public to understand what they can about the pandemic, combined with misguided and malignant disinformation as produced by Ms. Mikovits, it is critical that all scientists do everything they can to educate the public and disclose the fake or false information.”

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About the Journal

AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, published monthly online with open access options and in print, presents papers, reviews, and case studies documenting the latest developments and research advances in the molecular biology of HIV and SIV and innovative approaches to HIV vaccine and therapeutic drug research, including the development of antiretroviral agents and immune-restorative therapies. Content also explores the molecular and cellular basis of HIV pathogenesis and HIV/HTLV epidemiology. The Journal features rapid publication of emerging sequence information, reports on clinical trials of emerging HIV therapies, and images in HIV research. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including AIDS Patient Care and STDs, Viral Immunology, and Journal of Interferon and Cytokine Research. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 90 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.