Misuse of the VAERS database to spread fear, uncertainty, and doubt about vaccines has been a favorite technique of antivaxxers for decades. Unfortunately, 2021 was the year when this particular antivax trope was turbocharged. (Note: Orac will be taking a week off after this—see note in post.)
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Everything old is new again when it comes to antivax tropes. Died Suddenly resurrects the old antivax conspiracy that vaccines kill, the plan being to cause “depopulation” that would allow “global elites” to control the world.
Antivaxxers have been publicizing reports of myocarditis in young people, mostly male, after COVID-19 vaccination. ACIP will be meeting to discuss these reports to the VAERS database today. Is there a connection between mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines and myocarditis?
“Dumpster diving” is a term used to describe studies using data from the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System database by authors, almost always antivaxxers, who don’t understand its limitations. Last week, non-antivax doctors who should know better fell into this trap when they promoted their study suggesting that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are more dangerous to children than the disease.
A week ago, I wrote about how antivaxxers had resurrected an old trick to weaponize the VAERS vaccine safety database to demonize COVID-19 vaccines. They’re still at it, this time trying to blame the vaccine for heart attacks and cardiac deaths.