Will COVID vaccine lead to blood clots and heart attack? Fact check

Mail This Article
Since COVID vaccines were introduced, speculative and misleading information about them has been part of social media. ‘Whatsapp universities’ have spread them to such an extent that many people were worried about getting the vaccines or extra shots, even when doctors advised them the same. Recently, a message claiming that vaccinated people between 40 and 60 years of age were dying due to sudden and unexpected heart attacks as the vaccine makes the blood vessels harsher, causing blood clots, became viral on social media. The message even urges these people to do a D – Dimer test to confirm the blood clots.
Lots of people have been messaging to 8129100164, the phone number of Manorama Online Factcheck facility, enquiring the truth. The aforementioned notice claims to be a press release from the Pathalam ESI hospital at Kalamassery and it ‘advises’ vaccinated people to take a D – Dimer test to confirm whether the levels are exceeding 0.50. Although the note only mentions vaccine, it has widely been assumed as COVID vaccine.
To know the truth, the fact-check team contacted the ESI Hospital, whose name has been mentioned in the note. The hospital authorities made it clear that it is fake and the hospital hasn’t released any such notes. They also showed the press release issued by the hospital dismissing the note as fake and misleading.
We also conducted a keyword search to know more about the D – Dimer test. A D – Dimer test is a blood test that measures D – dimer, a protein fragment in the body. Those who suffer from blood clotting disorders may exhibit severe symptoms as the blood flow in their body is disrupted. This condition may lead to internal bleeding and even death. So, a D – Dimer test would be helpful in detecting blood clots in the body.
The team then approached a cardiologist to investigate whether Covid vaccine could lead to blood clots and heart attack. He noted that although studies are being conducted about this, there is no current evidence to decisively prove that Covid vaccine could lead to blood clots and heart attack. The doctor, however, added that extensive research is done about the possible side effects of the vaccine.
While going through some of the research studies, we found that a few cases of myocarditis have been reported in some age groups. However, there is no confirmation whether this is related to Covid vaccine.
Fact
The claim that those who took Covid vaccine may suffer from blood clots is fake and misleading. Besides, the ESI Hospital at Pathalam has clarified that they have not issued any notice or press release about Covid vaccine and blood clots.