January 16, 2023

More Medical Misinformation From St Sen Doug Mastriano

Take a look here and then here.

As part of this push for this legislation, Doug posts:

 

And one of the reasons he gives is this:


Ah, yes. Those VAERS (not "VEARS") numbers. As we've seen numerous times with the misinformation coming from Wendy ("My husband's a doctor!" Bell, this is dishonest.

And here's why.

If you were to go to the CDC's VAERS (not "VEARS") page and were to actually go looking for the data, you'll find the CDC's disclaimer.

It starts with this:

VAERS accepts reports of adverse events that occur following vaccination. Anyone, including healthcare providers, vaccine manufacturers, and the public, can submit reports to the system. While very important in monitoring vaccine safety, VAERS reports alone cannot be used to determine if a vaccine caused or contributed to an adverse event or illness. Vaccine providers are encouraged to report any clinically significant health problem following vaccination to VAERS even if they are not sure if the vaccine was the cause. In some situations, reporting to VAERS is required of healthcare providers and vaccine manufacturers.

VAERS reports may contain information that is incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental, or unverifiable. Reports to VAERS can also be biased. As a result, there are limitations on how the data can be used scientifically. Data from VAERS reports should always be interpreted with these limitations in mind. [Bolding in original.]

 Here's the part to keep in mind:

VAERS reports alone cannot be used to determine if a vaccine caused or contributed to an adverse event or illness.

And yet, that's exactly what St Sen Doug Mastriano did.

And then there's the myth of myocarditis/pericarditis danger from the vaccine. The CDC had this to say about it:

Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis is inflammation of the lining outside the heart. In both cases, the body’s immune system is causing inflammation in response to an infection or some other trigger. CDC has published case definitions for myocarditis and pericarditis.

The severity of cases of myocarditis and pericarditis can vary. For most cases of myocarditis and pericarditis following vaccination with an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, patients who presented for medical care have responded well to medications and rest and had prompt improvement of symptoms. CDC is assessing long term outcomes of myocarditis after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. Preliminary data from surveys conducted at least 90 days after the myocarditis diagnosis showed most patients were fully recovered from their myocarditis. [Emphasis added.]

Then there's this factcheck:

Cardiologists interviewed for this story told us based on their experiences with patients, vaccine-associated myocarditis appears to be less frequent and severe than myocarditis following SARS-CoV-2 infection in adults, young adults and children. They said patients arriving to the hospital with heart inflammation after an infection often get admitted in the intensive care unit and need advanced therapies to rescue them, including an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine, a life support machine that takes over for a person’s heart and lungs.

“Post COVID-vaccination myocarditis, which has been shown to be less severe … typically does not require treatment and it runs its course. And does not require any other therapies other than just supportive care,” Dr. Joyce W. Wald, a cardiologist, medical director of the shock team and director of heart failure, transplant and mechanical circulatory support program at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, told us in an interview.

Dr. Matthew Elias, an attending cardiologist in the cardiac center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told us patients with heart issues triggered by COVID-19 go through a “very scary” and “life-threatening experience,” while those with myocarditis following vaccination are observed for a few days and their symptoms typically resolve with ibuprofen “or no medication at all, honestly.” “So very different experience room to room,” he said in a phone interview. Heart “issues are much more common, and they’re much more severe, with the infection compared to the vaccine.”

So myocarditis on its own can be quite severe but "vaccine-associated myocarditis appears to be less frequent and severe than myocarditis following SARS-CoV-2 infection in adults, young adults and children."

So, you have to ask yourself just how dishonest was Doug being here? 

Lots.