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Are COVID vaccines particularly dangerous for athletes?

The Claim:

A Twitter influencer claims that COVID vaccines are particularly dangerous for athletes and people who are in peak physical condition.

The Facts:

Anti-vaxxers seem to think that unexpected cardiac deaths in athletes are caused only by the COVID vaccine. Their assumptions are wrong.

Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of exercise-related death. That’s why the claims about the vaccine required finding 16 cases from 6 different countries worldwide to make the leap from “no known cause” to vaccines were the cause.

There’s a lot unknown about these 16 cases. We don’t know their vaccination status or if they’ve ever had COVID, something, which is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Without more information, these anecdotes do not overrule the scientific evidence concerning the safety of COVID vaccines.

Disclaimer: Science is always evolving and our understanding of these topics may have evolved too since this was originally posted. Be sure to check out our most recent posts and browse the latest Just the Facts Topics for the latest.

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