Last Updated on January 25, 2022 by Neelam Singh
Quick Take
A media website published a video showing footballer Alex Apolinario collapsing during a football match. Referring to the news about the death of Brazilian footballer Alex Apolinario, few social media users claimed that the sportsperson died due to Covid-19 vaccine. We fact-checked and found the claim to be False.
The Claim
A media website named TheWorldWatch published a video titled, “ANOTHER PRO SOCCER PLAYER, 24, HAS HEART ATTACK AND DIES ON THE FIELD”
Referring to the video, a Facebook user writes, “Sad… Yet another soccer player has heart attack on the field…. What so ever could be causing all these young men to die of heart attacks on the soccer field in the last year or so?”
In response to the Facebook post, another social media user writes, “jabbs, jabbs, jabbs,,,,,wake up people, CDC and WHO just announced the boosters and all vaxx’s are a very bad idea now, and all need to be stopped…”
Likewise, a Twitter user writes, “At some point, an average unvaccinated football player will be the greatest player in the wold if they keep dropping like this..”.
The social media post can be seen here and here.
Fact Check
Did football player Alex Apolinario die due to Covid-19 vaccine?
No. Alex Apolinario did not die due to Covid-19 vaccine. The Portugal FC Alverca football club Instagram post confirms that Alex Apolinario collapsed on January 03, 2021 and died four days later. The footballer died when there were no Covid-19 vaccines available in the country for his age group.
According to the Portugal Government website, the Covid-19 vaccine was not rolled out until January 2021.
Have deaths due to heart attack increased among athletes after Covid-19 vaccines?
No. There are no studies that suggest deaths due to heart attack have increased among athletes after Covid-19 vaccines.
The Healthy Indian Project (THIP) has discussed the false claim of increased deaths among athletes due to vaccine related myocarditis in detail here.
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