Q&A of the Day – COVID-19 Vaccines & Myocarditis
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Social: @brianmuddradio
iHeartRadio: Use the Talkback feature – the microphone button on our station’s page in the iHeart app.
Today’s Entry: Submitted via Talkback on the iHeartRadio app pertaining to myocarditis cases/deaths attributed to COVID-19 vaccines.
Bottom Line: From Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s shocking cardiac arrest, to Lisa Marie Presley’s sudden cardiac failure, the question of the potential role that COVID-19 vaccines could have played has been raised. The obvious answer at this point is that we don’t know. The most likely answer in the case of those two high-profile instances is that we never will. However, what we do know is the role that COVID-19 vaccines have played in causing, what are known officially as “adverse reactions”. There’s a national database which states report into and is monitored by federal health agencies, a la the CDC. It’s the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.
I first, studied and covered myocarditis cases attributed to the COVID-19 vaccines, June 17th of 2021. Right about the six-month mark from the start of the public distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. In other words, this concern was and has been on my radar right along. My primary interest has been in evaluating, what immediately proved to be the absurd mandates of states like California, where COVID-19 vaccines are part of the “mandatory” vaccine schedule for children to attend public school, compared to rational states like Florida, where Governor DeSantis banned vaccine mandates on back of recommendations from Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. The most recent time I covered that dynamic was October 24th of last year. A summation of what I said then is a good starting place to move forward for today's question...
The CDC maintains a regularly updated spreadsheet online - documenting all deaths attributed to COVID-19, pneumonia and influenza. This is something I've used to illustrate points throughout the course of the pandemic. The spreadsheet breaks down all data by age. As of the current CDC information available, a total of 1,120 children between the ages of 5-17, those of grade school age at the start of a school year, have died of COVID-19 in the United States. That means children between the ages of 5-17 have accounted for 0.0009% of Covid-attributed deaths in the United States since the onset of the pandemic. Additionally, and to Dr. Ladapo’s point, there’s zero available evidence even one of those 1,120 children was healthy prior to contracting COVID-19. As I’ve previously pointed out – far more children have died of pneumonia than Covid since the onset of the pandemic. Pneumonia is a meaningfully greater risk than Covid to children – yet interestingly there’s been no hyped pneumonia concerns by the CDC or news media. That’s because statistically – the risk of both to children are nil.
The bigtime takeaway there is that over a year into COVID-19 vaccine distribution to children at that point, there was never a need for the vaccines for young health people, and when paired with the rare but present myocarditis risk, for especially young males, a net potential detriment to its use. And what’s nice about all of this is that we have data documented so we can investigate what’s real independent of Fauchist narratives. So, about that...here are all of the types of adverse reactions which have been medically documented and attributed to use of COVID-19 vaccines:
- An allergic reaction
- Blood clotting
- Nerve damage
- Heart inflammation
Incidentally, the blood clotting and nerve damage were specific to the original J&J vaccine which was rather quickly shelved. So given that we’re talking about two cardiovascular cases, we’re talking about heart inflammation or myocarditis. So, here’s what we know:
- There’s proven elevated risk of myocarditis for males 24 and younger who’ve obtained a COVID-19 vaccine
- The risk is greatest for those in their teens
For those who’ve received a COVID-19 vaccine under the age of 11 there have only been 23 cases of myocarditis. It’s basically lottery odds. While still rare, those odds jump 16-fold by the time we study those between 12-15. The cases per million vaccine doses administered by age:
- 12-15: 71
- 16-17: 106
- 18-24: 56
And this is where information matters in the public dissemination of this stuff so parents and young adults can make sound decisions. The CDC’s current recommendation still states that all people six months and older – yes six months – should get COVID-19 vaccines. On the one hand. These cases are very rare. On the other hand, if, in certain age groups, parents were told that hey – out of every 100 or so kids per million who get vaccinated per dose, of vaccine, develop a heart condition – how many would change their thinking about it? I’m not sure but I bet some. And this takes us full circle to where the question started today. About Damar Hamlin and Lisa Marie Presley.
Again, we don’t know what we don’t know. Also, it’d be especially irresponsible of me to attempt to play the role of medical examiner of them on the radio. But here’s what we do know based on the data. There’s no statistical link to women near Lisa Marie Presley’s age having risk of myocarditis, or related cardiovascular risks from COVID-19 vaccines. Therefore it’s safe to assume the vaccines wouldn’t have played a role in her death. She was a known substance abuser for decades. That’s the far more likely factor here. As for Damar...now that’s different.
As a 24-year-old man, he is in a category linked with myocarditis risk. Additionally, his role as a professional athlete is also a potentially compelling element to his case, as top performing athletes are known to have larger hearts already. To date, there’s been no accredited study specifically of athletes and myocarditis risk. But what we know is that it is a statistical possibility that Damar could have had it, and there’s a logical deduction that his being a professional athlete could factor into the mix as well. To be clear, the odds are highly against that having been the case with him, but it’s possible. And I’ll finish on this nugget for the rest of us.
Have you wondered how many Americans have died as a result of COVID-19 vaccines? From December of 2020 when the vaccines were first being administered, through January 4th of this year, there are 18,533 people who’ve died with a COVID-19 vaccine listed as a potential cause of death. So independent of myocarditis and whatever else, there’s that. The more you know...