Elon Musk faced heavy criticism after tweeting about a potential link between the COVID-19 vaccine and the cardiac arrest experienced by Bronny James, the son of NBA star LeBron James.
The billionaire tech mogul, who has previously been criticized for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines on Twitter, responded to a tweet about the Bronny James incident with a statement about the vaccine.
“We can’t attribute everything to the vaccine, but likewise, we can’t attribute nothing,” he wrote.
“Myocarditis is a known side effect,” Musk added. “The only question is whether it is rare or common.”
Myocarditis is a rare inflammatory condition affecting the heart, which has been reported in some cases among adolescents and young adult males who received the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
There is currently no evidence linking Bronny James’s health issues to the vaccine. However, Musk’s tweet quickly gained attention.
During a Tuesday interview with Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a medical contributor to Fox News, anchor Martha MacCallum referenced Musk’s post, stating, “People see these situations, and it does raise questions about the vaccine because we saw some of what you talked about happen in some young individuals after that. Elon Musk tweeted about it. Is that a fair question to raise?”
Nesheiwat replied by saying that cardiomyopathy, not myocarditis, is more common in individuals like Bronny James.
She added, “We don’t have the data to say” if there have been more incidents like Bronny James’s after widespread administration of COVID-19 vaccines following the pandemic.
Musk also faced criticism from other users on his own media platform, which he recently rebranded as “X.”
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) tweeted, “Dear @elonmusk: You have access to vast resources. Please consult some. You don’t know if Mr. James even has myocarditis. More importantly, the American Heart Association has stated ‘COVID-19 infection poses higher risk for myocarditis than vaccines.'”
A spokesperson for the James family stated that Bronny James is currently recovering after a medical emergency during a workout session at the University of Southern California’s (USC) Galen Center on Monday morning.
The battle over controlling vaccine information on social media has become a topic in courts and politics, with conservatives in Congress arguing that the Biden administration has attempted to censor discussions about the vaccine.
Earlier this month, a federal appeals court paused an order that restricted Biden administration officials from communicating with social media companies about online posts.
During the height of the pandemic, the administration sought to counter what it viewed as vaccine misinformation.
Vaccines have been proven to significantly reduce the risk of death or serious health issues from COVID-19.
Damar Hamlin, a safety for the Buffalo Bills, experienced a cardiac arrest episode during a Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals earlier this year. He had to be resuscitated twice by medical officials on the field and at a medical facility after collapsing following a tackle on an opposing player.
Dominick Mastrangelo also contributed to this report.
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