Q&A of the Day – Dr. Ladapo & COVID-19 Vaccines
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Today’s entry: @brianmuddradio Interesting how Twitter banned Ladapo’s post before quickly reversing. What do you make of the vax info?
Bottom Line: Yes, so in an interesting turn of events over the weekend, Florida’s Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo tweeted out this on Friday: Today, we released an analysis on COVID-19 mRNA vaccines the public needs to be aware of. This analysis showed an increased risk of cardiac-related death among men 18-39. FL will not be silent on the truth. Embedded in the tweet was a link to Dr. Ladapo’s new mRNA COVID-19 vaccine guidance on the Florida Department of Health’s website along with additional links to the analysis used in the updated guidance. Upon originally tweeting this on Friday, Twitter took it down. As of Sunday morning, Twitter put it back up. Aside from the knee jerk Twitter reaction to suspend any medical information which is potentially critical of COVID-19 vaccines, regardless of the facts, is the actual study material itself. So, about that study...
The title: Exploring the relationship between all-cause and cardiac-related mortality following COVID-19 vaccination or infection in Florida residents: a self-controlled case series study
The objective: To evaluate the risks of all-cause and cardiac-related mortality following COVID-19 vaccination
And as for where the records were derived... Data from Florida’s reportable disease repository (Merlin), Florida State Health Online Tracking System (FLSHOTS), and death records data from vital statistics were linked. Now, what was specifically in focus? The exposure of interest was the 28-day risk period following COVID-19 vaccination. Two outcomes were assessed. Natural all-cause deaths (i.e., excluding homicides, suicides, and accidents) and cardiac-related deaths. Cardiac-related deaths were included if their death record contained an ICD-10 code of I30-I52. For the primary analysis, only participants that experienced the exposure and outcome were included in this study. And what specifically was discovered?
- In the 28 days following vaccination, a statistically significant increase in cardiac-related deaths was detected for the entire study population
Meaning that across all recipients of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines there was a monitored increase in cardiac-related deaths. That’s kind of a big deal, but specifically it was driven by specific groups. Those groups:
- RIs were significantly higher for age groups 25 - 39 (RI = 2.16, 95% CI = 1.35 - 3.47) and 60 or older (RI = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.01 - 1.10). The remaining age groups failed to reach statistical significance.
And most specifically:
- Risk was significantly higher during the risk period for males but not for females. Among the subgroups evaluated, males aged 18 - 39 had the highest risk
And that led to this study conclusion:
- In this statewide study of vaccinated Florida residents aged 18 years or older, COVID-vaccination was not associated with an elevated risk for all-cause mortality. COVID-19 vaccination was associated with a modestly increased risk for cardiac-related mortality 28 days following vaccination. Results from the stratified analysis for cardiac-related death following vaccination suggests mRNA vaccination may be driving the increased risk in males, especially among males aged 18 - 39. Risk for both all-cause and cardiac-related deaths was substantially higher 28 days following COVID-19 infection. The risk associated with mRNA vaccination should be weighed against the risk associated with COVID-19 infection.
As noted by Dr. Ladapo in his new vaccination recommendation, the study found an 84% increase in cardiac related death from males 18-39 within 28 days of receiving an mRNA vaccine. As a result, Dr. Ladapo, changed his recommendation against men between the ages of 18-39 receiving a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine.
As I’m inclined to say there are two sides to stories and one side to facts. It’s an empirical fact that there’s a link between mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and a significant rise in cardiovascular risk in young men in Florida. It’s also a fact that young men are and have always been at low risk from severe symptoms due to COVID-19. This isn’t open to interpretation, it’s reality – which is likely why Twitter ended up relenting on its banning of the information from Dr. Ladapo on Sunday. The only element to this story which includes opinion, is that of Dr. Ladapo’s recommendation based on the information – which is non-binding. But even that opinion, with the facts considered, can hardly be considered controversial. In fact, it’d be far more controversial to recommend a vaccine which is proven to significantly raise the risk of cardiovascular failure to a group of people for a virus which carries little to no risk for them if contracted. The real story here is that Florida studied what other states simply haven’t. Unless there’s something in Florida’s water – this story clearly doesn’t stop at our state’s border.