Did Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins, die from COVID-19 vaccine-induced myocarditis?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Taylor Hawkins Died From Vaccine-Induced Myocarditis!
Just three days after Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins, was found dead in his hotel room in Colombia, The COVID Blog claimed that he died from vaccine-induced myocarditis.
They wrote a long rambling post about him, so let me share the relevant part with you. It’s long, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts.
Witnesses said Mr. Hawkins called the front desk complaining of chest pains right before he passed away. An ambulance arrived, but could not revive him. That means his heart stopped beating.
Truth : Taylor Hawkins Did NOT Die From Vaccine-Induced Myocarditis!
It’s becoming a tradition for anti-vaccination activists to immediately blame all celebrity deaths on the COVID-19 vaccine.
And The COVID Blog (TCB) has peddling COVID-19 fake news and misinformation for a long, long time. So it’s no surprise that they would jump on the bandwagon.
Here are the reasons why TCB is not only wrong, they are intentionally abusing Taylor Hawkins’ death to push their anti-vaccine beliefs.
Fact #1 : No Evidence Hawkins Had Vaccine-Induced Myocarditis
First, let me start by simply pointing out that The COVID Blog has ZERO EVIDENCE that Hawkins had vaccine-induced myocarditis.
They did not perform the autopsy on Hawkins, or run any laboratory test on his blood or urine samples. They did not even base their opinions on publicly-released information.
They concocted that claim out of thin air, without even an ounce of evidence.
Fact #2 : Colombian Authorities Released Urine Toxicology Report
After Hawkins died, the Colombian authorities took his body for an autopsy, and a urine test found 10 different kinds of drugs in his system.
The Colombia Attorney General’s Office issued this statement on the initial autopsy findings :
Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office can confirm the following after the initial autopsy on the body of Taylor Hawkins.
That in the toxicology test on Taylor Hawkins’ urine 10 types of substances were preliminarily found, including marijuana, tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and opioids.
The National Institute of Forensic Medicine is continuing its medical studies to be able to completely clarify the facts that led to Taylor Hawkins death.
Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office will continue with the investigation and reveal the results obtained as part of this investigation as appropriate.
Fact #3 : Urine Toxicology Does Not Take Weeks To Complete
TCB claimed that the Hawkins toxicology report cannot possibly be genuine because it typically takes 4-6 weeks to complete, and shared a link to WebMD as evidence.
That’s misleading, because the WebMD article was talking about how long it takes for a complete forensic toxicology report. The 4-6 week time is required because :
- the investigation may reveal additional drugs being taken, thus requiring new tests, and/or
- the initial results may require additional testing to confirm, and/or
- there may be a backlog of cases at one or more laboratories.
It’s also misleading because the Colombian authorities only released the urine toxicology report, not the complete forensic toxicology report.
They basically tested his urine sample for common drugs – a test that is quick to perform. In fact, most laboratories can complete the tests within a few hours.
Fact #4 : Vaccine-Induced Myocarditis Is Rare
TCB misleads you into thinking that vaccine-induced myocarditis is common, by saying that it is “the second-most common adverse reaction” … “covered on this blog“.
In other words, vaccine-induced myocarditis is not the second-most common side effect of the vaccines, it is merely the second-most common adverse reaction they like to write about!
The truth is studies like SAFECOVAC have shown that vaccine-induced myocarditis is extremely rare – less than 1 in a million doses!
In fact, you are hundreds of times more likely to get myocarditis from COVID-19 than from three doses of any COVID-19 vaccine!
Read more : Vaccine Myocarditis Risk Less Than 1 In Million!
Fact #5 : Vaccine-Induced Myocarditis Occurs Mostly In Young Males
Vaccine-induced myocarditis occurs mainly in young adults and adolescent males 12 to 39 years in age.
Hawkins was 50 years old when he died, and in his age group – the risk is practically non-existent.
To help you understand that, I created this table to show you the risk of vaccine-induced myocarditis for different age groups.
Note : Baseline refers to the typical number of myocarditis cases expected in the unvaccinated population.
Age Group | Male Rate (per million doses) |
Baseline (per million doses) |
12-17 | 32.4 | 2.0 |
18-24 | 30.7 | 1.8 |
25-29 | 12.2 | 1.9 |
30-39 | 6.9 | 1.9 |
40-49 | 3.5 | 1.9 |
50-64 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
Fact #6 : Vaccine-Induced Myocarditis Mild + Resolves Quickly
Vaccine-induced myocarditis is not only rare, most cases resolve quickly, compared to non-vaccine myocarditis.
As Dr. Matthew Elias, M.D., a cardiologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) explained :
In classic myocarditis, there are a wide range of presentations, from very mild symptoms to extremely serious, or even fatal, cases.
Overall, this does not seem to be happening in post-vaccine myocarditis. In the patients seen at CHOP and at other hospitals, symptoms are generally mild and self-resolving, and heart function is less affected, if affected at all.
Fact #7 : Vaccine-Induced Myocarditis Occurs Acutely
Vaccine-induced myocarditis is an acute condition that occurs within a few days of receiving an mRNA-based vaccine from Pfizer or Moderna.
Individuals who develop vaccine-induced myocarditis will experience symptoms like :
- chest pain
- shortness of breath
- heart palpitations
If Hawkins was suffering from vaccine-induced myocarditis, he would not have been able to fly around to play with the Foo Fighters at various concerts around the world :
- Feb 26-27 : Innings Festival 2022, Tempe, Arizona, United States
- Mar 4 : Foo Fights / Amyl and the Sniffers / The Meanies, Geelong, Australia
- Mar 18 : Lollapalooza Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Mar 20 : Lollapalooza Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Fact #8 : Cardiomegaly Takes Time To Develop
The initial autopsy report stated that his heart weighed “at least 600 grams” – twice the average for a man his age.
This finding of cardiomegaly (enlarged heart) suggests that he had a longstanding heart condition like heart failure, or cardiomyopathy.
TCB claimed that was evidence of vaccine-induced myocarditis, because the Myocarditis Foundation says that myocarditis enlarges the heart.
It is true that myocarditis can enlarge the heart by weakening the heart muscle, but that process takes time – weeks, if not months, to develop.
Fact #9 : Hawkins Discovered Enlarged Heart In 2021
Interestingly, Hawkins himself may have discovered that he had an enlarged heart (cardiomegaly) in 2021.
On 15 June 2021, he did a Rolling Stone interview with Brian Hiatt, where he revealed that his doctor recently told him that he had a “big” heart.
I just found out from my doctor, got all my blood tests and my heart everything checked and he goes, “Dude, you’re in amazing shape. Your heart’s big, because you exercise a lot. It’s like a runner’s heart.”
Fact #10 : His Cardiomegaly May Be Due To Sleep Apnea
In the same Rolling Stone interview, Hawkins also revealed an interesting detail that many people missed – he was likely suffering from sleep apnea.
The only thing is, he said, “I think you have sleep apnea.” And my wife’s always saying you snore and you fucking make weird noises while you’re sleeping and stuff.
Untreated sleep apnea increases cardiovascular stress, which elevates blood pressure and forces the heart to work harder. This can result in an enlarged heart (cardiomegaly) over time.
Fact #11 : Hawkins Almost Died From Drug Overdose In 2001
Hawkins had a long history of drug use, and almost died from a heroin overdose in 2001. He recounted the incident in 2018 :
I was partying a lot. I wasn’t a junkie per se, but I was partying. There was a year where the partying just got a little too heavy.
Thank God on some level this guy gave me the wrong line with the wrong thing one night and I woke up going, ‘What the f**k happened?’ That was a real changing point for me.
Tragically, it appears that Hawkins overdosed again, but was not able to recover this time, due to his existing heart condition.
For certain, his COVID-19 vaccination played no role in his death.
Don’t risk your life, or your family’s lives, on the bad science and misinformation promoted by The COVID Blog.
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Name : Adrian Wong
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
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