Online activists used the on-field collapse of American football star Damar Hamlin to spread anti-vaccination messages starting just minutes after Monday night’s incident. In what has become a familiar pattern since Covid vaccines became available about two years ago, several influential accounts used the event to spread anti-vaccination content.
They included the Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who tweeted: “Before the covid vaccines we didn’t see athletes dropping dead on the playing field like we do now… Time to investigate the covid vaccines.” That tweet was viewed around a million times within a day. But the idea that young, healthy athletes have never collapsed suddenly before Covid vaccines is easily disproven.
A US study looking at athletes over four years found many unexplained deaths were in fact caused by cardiac arrest – a cause more common in male and African-American players. A study from 2016 notes that there are approximately 100 to 150 sudden cardiac deaths during competitive sports in the United States each year. Why do some young athletes suffer cardiac arrest?
Editor’s Note: In order to successfully debunk the claims that Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest from mRNA shots, recent studies would need to be conducted on his spike protein levels and the number of sudden cardiac deaths happening today among athletes. For instance, the article presents a study from 2016, but does not mention post ‘covid’ accounts in comparison. Psychologically speaking, it’s important to notice the language projected with the use of ‘anti’. The use of slogans ‘anti-science’ ‘anti-vax’ pins one group against another while undermining the very legitimate health and freedom concerns people voice.
— mmd