The researchers examined autopsy data from 35 people who died unexpectedly within 20 days of COVID-19 vaccination and concluded that for two of them, vaccine-induced myocarditis represented the “likely” cause of death, while for three others, the condition was a “possible” cause of death.
Some experts, however, have questioned those conclusions — and even if valid, they don’t mean the risks of vaccination outweigh the benefits. On the contrary, numerous studies have shown the vaccines provide good protection against severe COVID-19 and death — and only rarely cause serious side effects. Studies
have also shown that in most age groups myocarditis following vaccination is less frequent than after COVID-19, and clinically, most vaccine-related myocarditis cases are mild. This context was missing when many people shared the autopsy study online.
“Autopsies found that 5/35 people who died suddenly within 20 days of COVID-19 vaccination had myocarditis as a likely/possible cause of death,” Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo
tweeted on Dec. 2, linking to the study.
“These deaths aren’t captured by other studies because these patients never made it to the hospital…mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are far less safe than any vaccines widely used. When does sanity return to science? Why do scientists breathlessly defend this technology?” he added, in a
tweet that got over 18,000 likes.
Ladapo also misleadingly said that the autopsy study was “consistent with Florida’s analysis,” referring to a discredited analysis performed by the Florida Department of Health. It purportedly found an increased risk of cardiac-related death following vaccination in younger adult males and was the basis for the state to no longer recommend the mRNA vaccines for that group in October. As we
wrote at the time, experts in statistics said the analysis was flawed.
Last week, in a roundtable hosted by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Ladapo
announced a plan to study myocarditis in people who died within a few weeks of COVID-19 vaccination using autopsy results, inspired by the German report. (For more information, see SciCheck’s “
DeSantis’ Dubious COVID-19 Vaccine Claims.”)
Ladapo’s tweet was followed by
multiple articles,
videos and social media posts suggesting the German autopsy report’s findings were alarming. The report was embraced by those who have been advancing the false narrative that the vaccines are causing widespread deaths. Its publication came just a few days after the release of “Died Suddenly,” a
viral video that baselessly claimed the vaccines were causing people to suddenly drop dead in a plot to depopulate the world.
