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Opinion: People don’t go to doctors to be entertained. Why do they turn to celebrities for health advice?

The noise from celebrity platforms often distorts or drowns out solid health information.
Source: Christopher Polk/Getty Images

Americans believe in experts. We look to CPAs to complete our tax returns, lawyers to handle our disputes, plumbers to fix our pipes. So it baffles me that an astounding number of us turn to movie stars and other celebrities for health advice.

Take a recent article in Parents magazine: In it, 13 successful actresses, including Alicia Silverstone, Julie Bowen, and Amanda Peet offered their opinions and advice on issues such as the safety, effectiveness, and timing of vaccines. They also shared their thoughts on vaccinating —

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