And so 2026 begins…with a resurrection of the myth that COVID vaccines cause “turbo cancers”

I had hoped to let this cup pass, but, after a week and a half, I found that I couldn't. Eminent oncologist and cancer researcher Dr. Wafik El-Deiry is back and doubling down on the unproven claim that COVID vaccines cause "turbo cancers," this time with an added dash of conspiracy theory. What happened to him?

The post And so 2026 begins…with a resurrection of the myth that COVID vaccines cause “turbo cancers” first appeared on Science-Based Medicine.

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And so it begins…

And so 2026 begins…

As I sat down last week to write the first post of 2026, I had been thinking that I would write about this week’s topic, but after thinking about it I decided to address a more general question of whether it is ever a good idea to debate science deniers. Then, as I sat down to write this week, there were the news stories about how the longtime antivax activist who is now Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had unilaterally decided to remake the CDC-recommended vaccine schedule in the image of Denmark because Denmark vaccinates against the fewest diseases of any European Union country. However, that was over a week ago, and Steve had already discussed it. (That’s not to say that I might not address, either here or at my not-so-super-secret other blog, it as part of RFK Jr.’s broader war on the vaccine schedule, but I felt less impetus to do it now.) Then, over the weekend, I saw a post on X, the disinformation hellsite formerly known as Twitter, by eminent oncologist and cancer researcher Dr. Wafik El-Deiry (whom we’ve met before here) touting his review article (not really a “study”) in which he wildly speculated about links between COVID-19 vaccines and cancer. True, he didn’t call them “turbo cancers,” but he did parrot the headline calling the vaccines “jabs”:

Shocking study linking covid jabs and cancer 'censored' by mysterious cyberattackhttps://t.co/3lYZhLrULS

— Wafik S. El-Deiry, MD, PhD, FACP (@weldeiry) January 10, 2026

A couple of observations. First, the review article in question, COVID vaccination and post-infection cancer signals: Evaluating patterns and potential biological mechanisms, co-authored by Charlotte Kuperwasser and Wafik S. El-Deiry, was officially published on January 3, and it was on or about that date when Dr. El-Deiry started flogging a narrative in which a cyberattack on the journal website, OncoTarget, had kept the article from being viewed. The “Daily Fail” is bad enough as a source, but then Dr. El-Deiry posted:

Shocking New Covid Study Linking Jabs to Cancer Goes Offline after Cyberattackhttps://t.co/VaHXnvmtIo

— Wafik S. El-Deiry, MD, PhD, FACP (@weldeiry) January 11, 2026

Yes, you read that right. He posted an Infowars link about his review article. However, that wasn’t the worst, at least not in my not-so-humble opinion:

‘Tip of a Very Damaging Iceberg’: COVID Vaccines Linked to Several Cancer Types in New Review

A systematic review of 69 studies identified safety signals for leukemia, lymphoma, breast and lung cancer. The paper identified mechanisms — including the spike protein and DNA…

— Wafik S. El-Deiry, MD, PhD, FACP (@weldeiry) January 8, 2026

Children’s Health Defense? Seriously? If CHD were ever to praise and publicize a study or review article that I’d authored or co-authored, I would not be proud of it. Quite the opposite. I’d be deeply ashamed, to the point where I’d STFU and reexamine my entire professional life, scientific activities, and belief systems before daring to reemerge, most likely humbled and apologetic, especially if I had made the enormous reputation-damaging mistake that Dr. El-Deiry did. I quote from the CHD article:

Wafik El-Deiry, M.D., Ph.D., one of the co-authors, told The Defender that the paper “is the first most comprehensive presentation summarizing the world‘s literature on the subject matter of COVID vaccines, COVID infection and cancer.”

He said some of the review’s findings “look like a smoking gun” linking COVID-19 shots to cancer.

Karl Jablonowski, Ph.D., senior research scientist for Children’s Health Defense, said the review’s findings may represent “the tip of a very damaging iceberg.”

“It is not remotely surprising that a gene-therapy rebranded as a vaccine, never tested for oncogenic safety, with severe immune dysregulating effects, injected into a billion people would correlate with an increased risk of cancers worldwide,” Jablonowski said.

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*Original source*