Study saying COVID-19 vaccines cause heart inflammation that was hyped by anti-vaxxers, withdrawn due to miscalculation

Fact Check-Pre-print study that claimed 1 in 1,000 risk of myocarditis following COVID-19 vaccine was withdrawn due to miscalculation Correction Oct. 4: corrects spelling of denominator in paragraph 13, and in the same paragraph corrects “25 orders of magnitude off” to “25 times smaller”. Changes 'magnitude' to 'factor' in verdict. Reuters Fact Check U.S.

A pre-print study which claimed that there is a 1 in 1,000 risk of contracting a heart inflammation condition known as myocarditis has since been retracted due to a calculation.

The study which was conducted by researchers at The University of Ottawa Heart Institute, was featured in numerous blogs and social media posts as proof that the COVID-19 vaccine is unsafe for use.

“New Study Shows 1 in 1000 Develop Heart Inflammation After Covid Vaccination; Myocarditis and Other Related Heart Conditions Have Increased Death Rate Within 5 Years,” the headline of an article published on September 21 on The Gateway Pundit reads ( archive.is/t0XC3 ).

The study was first published on September 16 on the platform MedRxiv, a website that publishes studies that have yet to be peer-reviewed ( here ). ...

The denominator (total vaccines administered over a two-month period in Ottawa) used to calculate the incidence rate of myocarditis in the pre-print study was approximately 25 times smaller than the correct figure.

The study was then withdrawn on September 24 and in a statement the researchers said: "Our reported incidence appeared vastly inflated by an incorrectly small denominator (ie number of doses administered over the time period of the study). We reviewed the data available at Open Ottawa and found that there had indeed been a major underestimation, with the actual number of administered doses being more than 800,000 (much higher than quoted in the paper)” ( archive.is/UCKQK ).

“In order to avoid misleading either colleagues or the general public and press, we the authors unanimously wish to withdraw this paper on the grounds of incorrect incidence data,” they added. ...