Have Corona vaccines killed more than 100 athletes?

Have Corona vaccines killed more than 100 athletes? What are the causes of sudden death for athletes? What is the relationship between their death and swallowing the tongue? The answers are in this comprehensive report.

The conspiracy theory that athletes collapse or die after receiving the Corona vaccine re-emerged this week, after two prominent voices presented this misleading idea, and here we present the truth.

These allegations were made public in November 2021. Now they have re-emerged.

In a report in the New York Times , Stuart A. Thompson wrote that Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, had spread the lies in his podcast appearances saying, "We've heard story after story.I mean, all those athletes died on the field, but. We're supposed to ignore that."

A similar claim was also made by John Stockton, a basketball player, who said on Sunday that "more than 100 professional athletes" had died after receiving the vaccine. No evidence was provided for this claim.

Are vaccines fatal?

The short and straight answer is no, there is no evidence for these claims or that COVID-19 vaccines are responsible for athlete deaths.

Health officials say the links between vaccines and athlete deaths are unfounded, and there is no evidence to suggest that the vaccine causes more deaths or injuries among athletes, according to the New York Times report, which added that federations have not reported any rise in such cases.

A representative from the National Football League said there were no vaccine-related deaths or hospitalizations among the nearly 3,000 players in the Football League, with 95 percent of the league's players vaccinated.

Stories about professional athletes dying during football and basketball matches after receiving the vaccine have been described as a recurring conspiracy theory since the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines.

Thousands of social media users shared posts making a specific claim about the number of deaths in the six months from last year to November among athletes, saying that 108 young and healthy players died in 6 months, and linked these deaths to these athletes receiving Corona vaccines, according to a fact-finding Conducted by Reuters at the time.

The deaths allegedly include soccer players registered with FIFA, and other sports such as American football, archery, athletics, badminton, baseball, among others.

Reuters submitted the allegations to FIFA, which responded that "FIFA is not aware of the high number of cardiac arrest cases as mentioned in your email, and no cases have been reported regarding individuals receiving the COVID-19 vaccine."

"In general, FIFA is in regular contact with leading research centers and experts to conduct research on a variety of medical topics," FIFA added.

A World Athletics spokesperson said via email that it had not seen any evidence to support "allegations of an increase in athlete mortality in the past two years".

Another spokesperson for England's national rugby league governing body added: "There is absolutely no indication from players that any of the COVID-19 vaccines have had any significant negative effects on the player's health or well-being, let alone any indication of any link to the players' deaths."

The Australian National Rugby League also said it had not seen "any deaths related to COVID-19 or COVID-19 vaccines".

Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), the British charity that funds medical research and supports families of young people with heart disease, told Reuters: "It is important to understand that sudden cardiac death of young people (in both athletes and the general population) is not a significantly new phenomenon. tragic".

Reuters cited data published in 2008 showing that 12 "apparently healthy" young adults (aged 35 or younger) die in the UK every week from previously undiagnosed heart disease.

What are the causes of sudden death for athletes?

According to a report in Fit People on the sudden death of athletes, this death depends on various causes and factors, such as age and the sports they practice.

The site notes that the sudden death of athletes during a match or training is usually a prominent thing and fills the front pages of newspapers, yet it is rare.

The report explained that sudden death is that which occurs when a person's heart stops in an unexpected and sudden way, and this usually happens to healthy people who are in good health, and this includes athletes.

Sudden death victims usually lose consciousness, do not respond to any stimuli, and keep their eyes open or closed. Their skin turns purple and blue, as they stop breathing.

The report indicated that the defibrillation device helps to save many of those whose heart has stopped temporarily as a result of sudden death. However, this must be done as soon as the first symptoms begin, until the electrical shock to the heart causes the muscle to work again and restore its normal rhythm.

If a defibrillator is not available, another option is to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to extend the time until the device is available.

Cardiovascular disease

The report said that according to a study published in the Spanish Journal of Cardiology (Revista Española de Cardiología) in 2002, cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of sudden death for athletes. However, this also applies to those who do not engage in regular physical activity.

Congenital coronary anomalies and cardiomyopathy are most common in athletes under the age of 35. Coronary atherosclerosis is most common in those over 35 years of age. In almost every case, arrhythmias can occur with a structurally normal heart.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation

As a first step, it is important to have a medical examination before competing or participating in any sport. In this way, the specialist will be able to detect some abnormalities that could eventually cause a fatal accident.

However, this does not mean that sudden deaths of athletes can be 100% prevented. And what we can do is make sure that more people know how to administer CPR especially in places where there is no pacemaker, which should actually be mandatory in any place where people do exercise of any kind and any level.

In general, the most effective way to reduce a person's risk of sudden death is, paradoxically, to exercise, especially at an early age, as this would control cardiac risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol and obesity.

swallowing the tongue

Deaths in which the athlete swallowed his tongue were recorded , according to eyewitnesses surrounding him. What actually happens when someone “swallows his tongue” is that the muscle of the tongue relaxes and bounces back towards the throat, which causes the airway to close, and this does not happen in the normal position of a person, but it may result from certain injuries that lead to loss of consciousness, such as:

Injury to the brain while playing, such as falling on the ground or hitting the crossbar or another player.

Having a heart muscle problem, such as fibrillation or a heart attack.

An imbalance in the level of salts and sugar in the blood may lead to convulsions in the athlete and loss of consciousness, which may lead to swallowing the tongue.

Why is it dangerous?

The reflux of the tongue into the throat leads to the closure of the airways, and thus suffocation of the injured and his inability to breathe.

Swallowing the tongue is an indication of an injury that's usually serious, such as a heart attack, concussion or convulsions.

Therefore, dealing with swallowing the tongue requires opening the airways quickly, in order to allow the patient to breathe and oxygen to reach the lungs, and then send him to the emergency room in the hospital directly to deal with the original injury that caused the tongue to swallow, and we mean here the tongue retracts back and closes the throat.

What is first aid?

Stretch the person on the floor.

The paramedic gently and non-violently tilts the victim's head back and chin up to reopen the airways.

After that, the paramedic slightly tilts the victim to one of his sides while maintaining the previous head position, allowing saliva to go outside the mouth and not enter the throat.

If the previous procedure fails to dislodge the tongue, a 'jaw thrust' maneuver or endotracheal tube insertion may be required, requiring an on-site ambulance team trained in handling injuries and sports emergencies.

It must be remembered that apnea may have other causes such as suffocation with food or a foreign body, or a heart attack or stroke, and therefore the situation must be evaluated by the paramedics and the necessary action, such as carrying out cardiopulmonary resuscitation and transporting the injured to the emergency room as soon as possible.