• Login
  • Register
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Premium
  • Donate
  • Log In
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result

Downplaying the Side Effects of the mRNA Vaccines is Undermining Public Trust in Medical Leaders

by Toby Young
25 January 2023 5:00 PM

Professor Vinay Prasad and Dr. John Mandrola have written an essay for the Free Press in which they take a detailed look at the evidence surrounding the increased incidence of myocarditis among those who’ve taken the Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines – particularly healthy young males. They caution against relying on non-experts to parse this evidence, but say that’s understandable because people no longer trust public health leaders to be forthcoming and honest about the side effects of the mRNA vaccines. The solution, they argue, is for these leaders to stop dismissing or downplaying people’s concerns. Here’s how their essay begins:

Why are so many people, many of them quite young and seemingly in the peak of health, dropping dead? Today, the news of such events is so inescapable that it feels like an epidemic.

Perhaps the most high profile of these was the near-death, on national television, of 24- year-old Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin. Hamlin went into cardiac arrest after a routine hit during a game earlier this month. He was ultimately saved by prompt medical care. But during the drive from the field to the hospital, Hamlin became a potent political symbol.

Across social media, prominent pundits and activists – most on the right but some on the Left – tied Hamlin’s injury to the Covid vaccine. “Prior to 2021, athletes collapsing on the field was NOT a normal event. This is becoming an undeniable (and extremely concerning) pattern,” tweeted Lauren Witzke, who was the Republican nominee in the 2020 Delaware Senate race. Social media was abuzz with similar speculation.

A troubled, uncertain public is increasingly turning to a single, ominous explanation for such events: Covid vaccinations, especially those from Pfizer and Moderna that use the new mRNA technology.

On Twitter, an active subculture using variations of the hashtag #DiedSuddenly tracks such unexpected deaths – a teenage basketball player dropping dead; a track star collapsing on the field; a young teacher dying of a heart attack in front of her class – and implies that vaccines are the cause. A discredited anti-vaccine documentary, Died Suddenly, has reportedly been seen by millions. And the night of Hamlin’s collapse, Fox News host Tucker Carlson, referencing a supposed study of sudden deaths among Europeans athletes, made the debunked claim that “Since the vax campaign began, there have been more than 1,500 total cardiac arrests… and two-thirds of those were fatal.”

Is there truth to any of these claims? Is the public right to be concerned? Are there actually more healthy people dropping dead than usual – or is this simply confirmation bias at work? Can we dismiss anything that travels under the banner of ‘died suddenly’ as conspiracy theorising? And how should we understand why so many Americans are drawn to this explanation?

At least part of the answer to that last question is the serious information void on this subject – which is what we want to remedy in this essay. One of us is a practising cardiologist (John Mandrola). The other is a practising hematologist and professor of epidemiology (Vinay Prasad).

Cards on the table: We think the vaccines are an important tool for preventing severe illness and death among vulnerable people – particularly the elderly and those with certain underlying medical conditions. But we have been concerned that our federal officials recklessly continue to push for multiple Covid shots for everyone five years-old and up, despite the growing evidence that these vaccines may not be appropriate for all. We are also concerned about the way side effects of the vaccine, particularly among young men, have been downplayed.

For these reasons and more, we believe in being transparent and honest with a public that has lost trust in our essential public health institutions.

You can read Vinay Prasad and John Mandrola’s essay here.

Stop Press: The massive spike in excess deaths in England and Wales in the week ending January 13th – 2,837 above average for the time of year – has sparked a call from Esther McVey MP for an urgent inquiry. The Daily Mail has more. Carl Heneghan and Tom Jefferson think the Minister’s reply was deplorable.

Tags: Cardiovascular DiseasesmRNA vaccinesMyocarditisSudden DeathThe Free Press

Donate

We depend on your donations to keep this site going. Please give what you can.

Donate Today

Comment on this Article

You’ll need to set up an account to comment if you don’t already have one. We ask for a minimum donation of £5 if you'd like to make a comment or post in our Forums.

Sign Up
Previous Post

U.K. Becomes Latest Country to Ban Covid Boosters for Under-50s

Next Post

News Round-Up

Subscribe
Login
Notify of
Please log in to comment

To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.

Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.

34 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Monro
Monro
2 years ago

Dr Malhotra is correct. All covid vaccination should be halted until this matter is fully investigated.

Here is a list (up to Nov 22) of recent sudden sports deaths, injuries – on page 3

https://thelightpaper.co.uk/assets/pdf/Light-17-i-Final1.pdf

Last edited 2 years ago by Monro
93
0
stewart
stewart
2 years ago

Cards on the table: We think the vaccines are an important tool for preventing severe illness and death among vulnerable people

Yeah. Easier to disguise the deadly effects of the jabs among the elderly and vulnerable. They’re more susceptible to die anyway, aren’t they.

They just can’t being themselves to accept the stuff is poison. They are soo terrified of being called out as anti vaxxers, or conspiracy theorists.

Last edited 2 years ago by stewart
166
0
Mogwai
Mogwai
2 years ago
Reply to  stewart

Yep, sounds that way. And how on earth can you get cardiologists not in agreement on something like this? I mean, what is the author not seeing that Drs McCullough and Malhotra are? They’re all looking at the exact same data and are all of the same profession. Weird. And I remember Dr McCullough citing that study about 1500 athletes having cardiac arrests, so I’d like the author to explain how it’s been debunked. And who’s side is Dr Vinay on anyway? I’m still staggered that such intelligent and credentialed doctors can be in favour of these death shots in particular cohorts rather than look at the alarming safety data and signals from all over the world and not agree with colleagues that they should be scrapped entirely.
It’s why I have such respect for people like McCullough who are calling this campaign out for the genocide that it is. I somehow can’t imagine Dr V having the balls to say that on one of his videos.

Last edited 2 years ago by Mogwai
98
0
Paul Chandler
Paul Chandler
2 years ago
Reply to  Mogwai

I agree with your thrust, but it is such a shame that people on our ‘side’ as well as the bad guys are being careless or ‘economical with the truth’. The debunking mentioned is easily found by following the link in Toby’s article and you should at least have read it before stating ‘…all looking at the exact same data..”. I think that any DS reader who has looked back to the sources would conclude that the 1500 to 29 per year comparison is baloney.

3
-4
transmissionofflame
transmissionofflame
2 years ago

I’ve had zero trust in any leader, authority figure, expert, medical or otherwise, from Day 1 of covid. My starting assumption now is that everything they say is a lie, or spin, or half-truth, or something irrelevant or meaningless designed to hide the truth or their real intentions.

It’s essential, IMO, to regard anything coming from any of these people with the utmost scepticism.

206
0
stewart
stewart
2 years ago
Reply to  transmissionofflame

And there is good reason to think that way.

The pharma-medical complex has completely reversed the rules of the game.

Previously they had to demonstrate that their products were effective before they could be approved. There was obviously some corruption in the system, but the fundamental rule was that.

Covid reversed it. They released a product and made a series of claims about them in order to allow them to impose the product on everyone. And then society was forced to disprove the claims.

The extent to which the claims persist depend on how easy they are to verify. or disprove. In order of the easiest to the hardest to disprove;

– Stops transmission: everyone was able to see with their own two eyes that the claim was complete bullshit. Hence this claim is no longer made.

– Safe: the sheer volume of people suffering problems from the jabs is proving too big to ignore. So “reasonable” commentators are now having to question the safety.

– Reduces hospitalisations and death in everyone: this is much harder to disprove. The pharma-medical establishment and simpletons in the public argue that covid has disappeared and therefore it was the jabs wot dun it. You have to get into data comparisons between countries and populations to disprove this and most people have neither the capacity nor inclination to get into. Still, if anyone takes the trouble, the data will show that the unjabbed aren’t ending up dead or in hospital at any bigger rate than the jabbed. But it’s proven by data which leaves an open door for anyone who just doesn’t want to see it. People only believe data they want to believe.

– It helps the old and vulnerable. This is the one that is virtually impossible to disprove because this is the population that is almost 100% jabbed so no control group. Oops, too bad. And this is the one that will stick and people who don’t want to be called bad names like “conspiracy theorist” will offer up as a token of their reasonableness i.e. acquiescence to the pharma-medical overlords.

But it’s all backwards now. Our masters make the bold claims about their patented pharma products and we the plebs have to disprove them, with blood, sweat and tears.

And for that, and all the misery they’ve brought on us, I don’t trust them either.

128
0
Tyrbiter
Tyrbiter
2 years ago
Reply to  stewart

The thing is that the Covid experience has thrown the role of pharma regulation into sharp relief, there’s no question that it was thoroughly bad for a long time before 2020 because the trail of damage, deaths and fines is very noticeable once you’ve seen just one instance.

56
0
stewart
stewart
2 years ago
Reply to  Tyrbiter

Agree. And their “solution” has been to make testing periods shorter and the approval process even more corrupt.

I suppose it makes sense. What’s the point of multi year development processes to end up with shitty deadly drugs when you can get a similar result in 6 months?

As I’ve said, screw proving it’s safe. Just claim it is and make them fight you to prove it isn’t.

54
0
Free Lemming
Free Lemming
2 years ago
Reply to  stewart

Spot on. Good post.

15
0
Jane G
Jane G
2 years ago
Reply to  stewart

And you here articulate the exact reason I probably will not write to the Yorkshire Post in reply to the W Yorks leader of the vaccine rollout; still touting for business, getting people to come forward for their ‘vital’ boosters. (I suppose the paper needs the copy)
It’s hardly worth the effort – and I can also predict the abusive answers I’d get.

Just leave the kids alone, I say; let the lemmings do as they will.

7
0
JohnK
JohnK
2 years ago

It really does appear that the medical trade, or to be more precise, pharmacology, is a foreign country when it comes to health & safety requirements, and acceptable levels of risk. Imagine what would happen in other industries if a new product was promoted, allegedly for the benefit of the consumer.

Loss of reputation can lead to longer term problems, as you suggest.

46
0
Tyrbiter
Tyrbiter
2 years ago
Reply to  JohnK

You mean Electric Vehicles? Yes, loss of reputation is quite likely.

20
0
stewart
stewart
2 years ago
Reply to  JohnK

I actually have no problem with them offering up their products badly tested, with all kinds of safety problems. Really I don’t.

As long as they’re not forced on anyone, the market will quickly put their products in their rightful place.

I much prefer a world with minimal bureaucratic regulation because I know the best regulation for bad products is the market.

29
-6
huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
2 years ago
Reply to  stewart

“I actually have no problem with them offering up their products badly tested, with all kinds of safety problems. Really I don’t.”

I’m not sure you mean that Stewart. Think it through.

20
-1
Chris P
Chris P
2 years ago

‘We believe the feverish speculation that Covid-19 vaccines have led to increased sudden deaths is largely due to a trust problem with our public health.’

The authors can believe that, but I believe the speculation is largely due to the Covid-19 injections having led to increased sudden deaths and is to a large extent based on personal experience of people suddenly dying or being seriously injured.

106
0
Tyrbiter
Tyrbiter
2 years ago
Reply to  Chris P

I think the elephant is finding it increasingly difficult to be noticed, but once it has been there is no way of hiding the elephant-shaped hole in the background.

32
0
RW
RW
2 years ago
Reply to  Tyrbiter

By now, elephants are multiplying in the room and medical leaders and public health officials find it increasingly difficult to locate a sufficiently elephant-free place to make their next The vaccines are safe and effective! statement. But – as some minister whose name I couldn’t determine replied to a question from Esther McVey – While we’re certainly experiencing a mysterious overcrowding of this place by scores of nameless large grey animals, this is also happening all over the UK and all over Europe! and hence, there’s nothing to be seen here.

Last edited 2 years ago by RW
45
0
Mogwai
Mogwai
2 years ago
Reply to  RW

I think the elephant is now re-enacting a particular scene from Alice in Wonderland and grown so huge it’s trunk is sticking out of the chimney. 🐘 🏚 🧐 🕵 ‍

Last edited 2 years ago by Mogwai
34
0
stewart
stewart
2 years ago
Reply to  Chris P

You need to get the context.

This seems to me like two doctors begging their pharma and medical establishment masters to be reasonable.

They love their masters and worry that their heavy handedness is leading to others not loving them like they do. They want, nay need, to continue believing their masters are good kind masters.

49
0
ELH
ELH
2 years ago
Reply to  stewart

Spot on – otherwise all that doctors have studied for and become experts at is null and void. Their status disappears and they become discredited. Status is all to these people and they will defend their position even when the elephant is sitting on them…very awkward if not impossible to recognise that they have been duped and have become tricksters themselves.

10
0
zebedee
zebedee
2 years ago

I thought there was supposed to have been a huge increase in cocaine consumption during the pandemic, at least in the UK. What effect, if any, has that had on the death rate?

7
-1
stewart
stewart
2 years ago
Reply to  zebedee

It would certainly be interesting to investigate whether the young people dying of heart attacks are regular consumers of cocaine. Not sure how you could get that info though.

8
0
RW
RW
2 years ago

Considering that (as I just learnt) the JCVI chair of COVID vaccination is beneficiary of an open-ended research grant by Pfizer which basically works in the way that he sends them a letter I need … to fund … for my research on pneumonia and Pfizer then sends the money, how can there be any trust in public health officials/ medical leaders?

Last edited 2 years ago by RW
68
0
ellie-em
ellie-em
2 years ago

This statement is why I distrust most people who’ve allegedly seen the light but continue to defend or find any merit in administering the noxious jabs to anyone, irrespective of age or general health status:

“We think the vaccines are an important tool for preventing severe illness and death…”

72
0
Paul B
Paul B
2 years ago

Can we do one on the pollution of our food chain even further?

I don’t want to be eating cricket flour. Will these products be labelled clearly?

A cursory search show the articles you’d expect. “Why vegans are turning to crickets” – “why you’re eating crickets and why you should want to” – “Why eating plants is worse for animals than eating ethically sourced cricket paste” etc etc ad nauseum….

35
0
Mogwai
Mogwai
2 years ago
Reply to  Paul B

Your guess is as good as mine. All will be revealed in due course so I’ll let yous know. And actually, what I’ve just this second decided, if I do find anything on the label and it’s hidden away in the small print on the back, I’m going to go ask the manager of the supermarket if they’re aware of it. They’re always on the shop floor anyway. Because they should be by rights shouldn’t they? And depending what the item is, for e.g bread or biscuits, I’ll be asking what they’re playing at keeping these items on the shelf, all inconspicuous and blending in. I’ll pretend I’m vegan if it adds more weight to my argument! lol We’ll see how it goes…But if this crap is entering our food supply it needs to be sold separately and have the *warning* somewhere obvious. Nasty.

31
0
Paul B
Paul B
2 years ago

Should MH be able to show his face in public without having rotten fruit thrown at him?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/01/25/matt-hancock-arrest-assault-mp-london-underground-westminster/

I wish they would stop reminding people he’s from West Suffolk 🙁

20
0
Mogwai
Mogwai
2 years ago

It’s been in the Dutch news today that 2022 saw an increase of 14,500 deaths over and above what would be expected. ( source; http://www.ed.nl ) This article gives more details and is in English. I found some bits particularly interesting. Of course they’re blaming Covid and flu primarily but admit they can’t explain all excess deaths;

”More people died in 2022 than before the coronavirus pandemic, even compared to 2015 and 2018, when there were severe flu waves.
At 13 percent, excess mortality was highest among people under the age of 50. More people in that age group died last year than in 2020 and 2021, when the percentage excess mortality percentage was just under 10 percent.
A significant proportion of the deaths occurred among people receiving some form of long-term care, such as the residents of nursing homes or care facilities for the disabled.”

So why would excess mortality be highest in such a young age group, especially when compared with the previous two ‘plandemic’ years? People in nursing homes are obviously more vulnerable and frail. But these folk, along with those in other residential institutes ( disabled people ) are also most likely to be routinely given every available jab right on schedule, sans informed consent. And if what Jikky the mouse discovered ( as discussed on the Chris Martenson video on Rumble ) over in Australia is anything to go by, it’s the folk living in institutions that are receiving the ”hot lots”, as in, they’ll get the batches that have adverse events reported and associated with them.
But long story short, people under 50yrs should not be dying in excess. Very suss.

https://nltimes.nl/2023/01/25/excess-mortality-remained-high-2022-due-covid-19-flu

Last edited 2 years ago by Mogwai
31
0
Matt Dalby
Matt Dalby
2 years ago

Excess deaths in England and Wales w/e Jan 13th 2873 above average!
Winter sees a lot of deaths that can be related to cold weather, including frail elderly people whose immune system is weakened by the cold so that they succumb to viruses they may have been able to overcome in the summer. Apart from a severe cold spell in mid December this winter has been very mild. This would suggest that deaths should be close to or even below the recent average, so 2,837 above average could well be more than 2,837 above what would be expected taking into account average temperatures.

12
0
godknowsimgood
godknowsimgood
2 years ago
Reply to  Matt Dalby

The temperature may be relatively ‘mild’ outside, compared to an average winter, but due to the rising cost of everything, including food and particularly home heating, the temperature inside many people’s homes this winter has been exceptionally cold.

21
0
RW
RW
2 years ago
Reply to  godknowsimgood

Averaging temperature readings is still bullshit.

3
0
RW
RW
2 years ago
Reply to  Matt Dalby

Apart from a severe cold spell in mid December this winter has been very mild.

… because the climate changers keep telling us that! It ain’t so.

As of last weekend, my parents had enough snow that moving it out of the way became difficult. Some areas of Germany had snow and frost end of October. There’ve been two more than week-long spells of generally freezing conditions and during the last one, something I haven’t ever seen before happened: The sidearm of the Thames on the north-east side of View Island was almost completely frozen over. And also the approach to Caversham Lock. And there’s even regular current there. Apart from that, it has been a pretty typical Reading winter so far (winter has 3 months, starting with 21st of December, and we’re meanwhile through one of them). Rainy, windy, cold, dark and miserable.

7
0
RTSC
RTSC
2 years ago

Gosh, these two are very bright aren’t they.

The Global Healthcare Bureaucrats and western Governments have lied repeatedly about Covid and these experimental gene therapies for the past two years, and now they’re concerned that the sizeable but minority section of the population which still has critical thinking abilities doesn’t believe a word that comes from them.

Who would’ve thunk it.

13
0
Paul Chandler
Paul Chandler
2 years ago

They are stating the obvious, but it’s encouraging that such an article comes from two of the ‘unsceptics’. Well worth reading the full article to appreciate what they are saying – but partition off their support for the transfections as a therapeutic for the elderly/vulnerable. And perhaps to inform any criticism such as several readers have made in comments below.
Particularly worth checking out is the referred debunking of the 1500 to 29 per year comparison purportedly (but not actually) referring to cardiac arrests in young athletes.
The real situation is sufficiently shocking – we don’t need to propagate spurious figures, notwithstanding that they appear to have been used by one of our heroes Dr McCullough.

5
0

NEWSLETTER

View today’s newsletter

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

DONATE

PODCAST

The Sceptic | Episode 46: Ofcom’s Ill-Fated Imperialism, One Year of Two-Tier Keir and Phoney Green Jobs

by Richard Eldred
1 August 2025
3

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editor’s Picks

News Round-Up

7 August 2025
by Toby Young

‘Vigilante’ Force to Begin Patrols in Crime-Hit Bournemouth

7 August 2025
by Will Jones

Homelessness Minister Threw Out Her Tenants – Then Increased Rent by £700 a Month

7 August 2025
by Will Jones

Ten Awful Covid Studies Funded by Taxpayers

7 August 2025
by Charlotte Gill

The Return of the Unfashionable Gods

7 August 2025
by Michael Rainsborough

News Round-Up

46

Spanish Town Bans Muslim Religious Festivals After Nearby Town Was Rocked by Riots

35

How Have We Ended Up Paying For Everything While Doing All the Work Ourselves?

38

‘Vigilante’ Force to Begin Patrols in Crime-Hit Bournemouth

23

Ten Awful Covid Studies Funded by Taxpayers

20

The Return of the Unfashionable Gods

7 August 2025
by Michael Rainsborough

Even Lib Dems Back Brexit Now

7 August 2025
by Gully Foyle

Coral on Great Barrier Reef at Fifth Highest Level Since Records Began – but Mainstream Media Still Spin ‘Tipping Point’ Narrative

7 August 2025
by Chris Morrison

Ten Awful Covid Studies Funded by Taxpayers

7 August 2025
by Charlotte Gill

How Have We Ended Up Paying For Everything While Doing All the Work Ourselves?

6 August 2025
by Guy de la Bédoyère

POSTS BY DATE

January 2023
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  
« Dec   Feb »

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union

NEWSLETTER

View today’s newsletter

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

POSTS BY DATE

January 2023
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  
« Dec   Feb »

DONATE

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editor’s Picks

News Round-Up

7 August 2025
by Toby Young

‘Vigilante’ Force to Begin Patrols in Crime-Hit Bournemouth

7 August 2025
by Will Jones

Homelessness Minister Threw Out Her Tenants – Then Increased Rent by £700 a Month

7 August 2025
by Will Jones

Ten Awful Covid Studies Funded by Taxpayers

7 August 2025
by Charlotte Gill

The Return of the Unfashionable Gods

7 August 2025
by Michael Rainsborough

News Round-Up

46

Spanish Town Bans Muslim Religious Festivals After Nearby Town Was Rocked by Riots

35

How Have We Ended Up Paying For Everything While Doing All the Work Ourselves?

38

‘Vigilante’ Force to Begin Patrols in Crime-Hit Bournemouth

23

Ten Awful Covid Studies Funded by Taxpayers

20

The Return of the Unfashionable Gods

7 August 2025
by Michael Rainsborough

Even Lib Dems Back Brexit Now

7 August 2025
by Gully Foyle

Coral on Great Barrier Reef at Fifth Highest Level Since Records Began – but Mainstream Media Still Spin ‘Tipping Point’ Narrative

7 August 2025
by Chris Morrison

Ten Awful Covid Studies Funded by Taxpayers

7 August 2025
by Charlotte Gill

How Have We Ended Up Paying For Everything While Doing All the Work Ourselves?

6 August 2025
by Guy de la Bédoyère

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union
  • Home
  • About us
  • Donate
  • Privacy Policy

Facebook

  • X

Instagram

RSS

Subscribe to our newsletter

© Skeptics Ltd.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Premium
  • Donate
  • Log In

© Skeptics Ltd.

wpDiscuz
You are going to send email to

Move Comment
Perfecty
Do you wish to receive notifications of new articles?
Notifications preferences