Last Updated on May 19, 2022 by Team THIP
Quick Take
After Denmark paused the covid vaccination program, several social media users claimed that the decision was made after a study into vaccine-induced heart issues. We fact-checked and found the claim to be False.
The Claim
In May (2022), JamaNetwork published a research titled, “SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination and Myocarditis in a Nordic Cohort Study of 23 Million Residents”. Referring to this research, a media website named LifeSiteNews published an article titled, “mRNA COVID shots tied to increase risk of myocarditis, massive Nordic study finds”.
Referring to the LifeSiteNews article, a Facebook user wrote, “The benefit of the vaccine in no way outweigh the risks. Denmark suspends Covid vax program after study of 23 million people raises health alarms”.
Similar social media posts with missing context have been shared on Facebook and Twitter.
Fact Check
Has Denmark paused covid vaccination program due to increased risk of myocarditis?
It does not seem so. In April 2022, the Danish Health Authority announced, “The vaccination program against covid-19 will soon be rounded off for this season”. This article clearly explains that the state general program of sending invitations to get vaccinated will not be continued further because ‘the vaccine coverage is high in the Danish population and the epidemic situation is favorable’.
This article further claims that Denmark, ‘will continue to monitor the development of the epidemic closely’ and also ‘ready to resume the general vaccination program should the need arise before a new covid-19 season is expected to begin in the autumn’.
Also, we could not find any evidence that can confirm the decision to halt the general vaccination program was influenced by the Nordic study. The Nordic study analysed the link between mRNA vaccines and myocarditis to conclude that the RNA vaccines “were associated with increased risk of myocarditis and pericarditis”. But this paper also shows that myocarditis after mRNA vaccination “was rare in this study cohort and even among young males” where risk is high and recommends balancing the risk “against the benefits of protecting against severe COVID-19 disease”.
In conclusion, the decision of Denmark to suspend its general vaccination program seems to be misinterpreted by social media users. Hence, the claim remains false until proven otherwise.
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