#1908: Sandy Lunoe

David Lowe’s article “The Sun Is Not A Star” seems to be a spoof, just so you know. There is nothing funny about Sandy Lunoe. Lunoe is an antivaxxer who at least occasionally writes for the antivaccine conspiracy website VacTruth. Lunoe is an adherent of the familiar toxins gambit, mostly because neither Lunoe nor her readers understand basic chemistry. Her post “Excuse Me Waiter – There’s a Fly in My Vaccine Soup!” is discussed in some detail here. It’s … idiotic.

According to Lunoe “it is no joke that vaccines may contain residue from insect cells, yeast, mouse brains, tissue from pigs, guinea pigs, rabbits, dogs, calf lymph, hens’ eggs, chick embryos, monkey kidney and testicle cells, retinal cells, aborted human fetal cells [a classic, dishonest and ridiculous misrepresentation] and cancer cells! These are amongst the many substrates present in the huge cultivation soup tanks which are used in vaccine production. The implications may be horrendous.” Yes, she even tries theold “monkey virus in vaccines” claim, which remains as stupid as it ever was. And the list? Basically, it’s names antivaxxers give various proteins when they occur in vaccines (but not when they push supplements). Lunoe also tries to argue that there is DNA in the HPV vaccine, but is predictably nebulous about what that is supposed to mean or why it is harmful. (The answer seems to be that her convictions has led her to classify it as “unclean”).

She also has, uh, assertions. “Most vaccines are contaminated with a number of known and yet-to-be discovered viruses, bacteria, viral fragments, and DNA/RNA fragments. And, further, our science demonstrates that these contaminants could lead to a number of slowly-developing degenerative diseases, including degenerative diseases of the brain,” says Lunoe, and “researchers who worry that the stray DNA is being incorporated into the recipient’s DNA …” And from “worry that”, Lunoe concludes that “DNA particles from disease matter can get into our DNA and alter us and in my opinion these vaccines are turning us into genetically modified organisms” (my emphasis). You wouldn’t want to be turned into a genetically modified organism, would you? And the “researchers” and “science” she refers to? Ah, that would be Suzanne Humphries, Sherri Tenpenny and Mike Adams. She cites no researchers. Nor science.

Lunoe has actually written a separate post, in much the same style, about the use of cancer cells in vaccines: “Vaccines Will be Made from Human Cancer Tumors.” The claim, from which Lunoe concludes that vaccines may lead to cancer, is, shall we say, misleading. To bolster her case, though, she points out that 60 years ago medical scientists were unable to detect certain potentially cancer causing factors, therefore vaccines are dangerous. Also, the FDA is in a conspiracy to hide the truth, because Lunoe can quote mine scientists at an FDA hearing to sound that way by judicious use of ellipses.

Diagnosis: Crazy conspiracy theorist. We don’t know how influential she is, but the antivaxx movement is loud and are causing real harms, and real deaths, so she still deserves a healthy dose of disgust and rebuke. Shun her.

Hat-tip: Respectful Insolence.