Turkish experts warn against anti-vaxxer claims

ISTANBUL

Anti-vaxxers mislead people, Turkish experts have said, while evaluating a South Korean survey refuting claims that COVID-19 vaccines cause heart attacks.

“There is a group that associates every health problem with vaccines and cannot be convinced despite scientific evidence. Many people are negatively affected by these false rumors,” said Meral Kayıkçıoğlu, a cardiology specialist, adding that it would not have been that easy to overcome the effects of the Omicron variant without vaccination.

Pointing out the study in Korea revealed that post-infection cardiovascular problems are very common among unvaccinated people, Kayıkçoğlu said, “This rate was found to be much less in those vaccinated. Scientific research refutes the anti-vaccine theses.”

“There has been a non-stop propaganda on social media for three years that COVID-19 vaccines cause various diseases,” said Erdal Yanbuloğlu, another expert.

People lost their lives because they followed these fallacies, though studies in large patient groups show the opposite, Yanbuloğlu said. “The risk of a heart attack or a stroke after COVID-19 in unvaccinated individuals is twice as high as in vaccinated individuals.”

Warning people not to fall for these claims, Yanbuloğlu said that the complaint of side effects in the form of heart muscle inflammation due to mRNA vaccines is one in a few million, according to the studies carried out so far.

“Those who are unvaccinated are at higher risk of heart attack,” he added.

“Anti-vaxxers confuse people as they create a false perception with inaccurate rhetoric,” said professor Mustafa Kemal Erol, adding that there has not been a remarkable increase in the number of patients who die from heart diseases.

The professor also underlined that cardiological problems are not caused by vaccines and added, “On the contrary, vaccination is very important as there is a risk of intravascular inflammation after recovery for those infected.”

Evaluating the results of the research in South Korea, Derya Unutmaz, a professor from the University of Connecticut, also said, “The rumors that vaccines cause heart attacks are completely wrong as the study has shown that vaccines prevent heart attacks and vascular occlusion, mostly seen after being infected.”

After anti-vaxxers frequently brought up the claim that COVID-19 vaccines cause heart muscle inflammation, a study examining the data of approximately 600,000 patients who had COVID-19 in South Korea found that the risk of heart attack is higher in unvaccinated group.

Including 62,000 unvaccinated and 168,000 fully vaccinated people, all of whom were over 60 years old and had an additional disease, the study revealed that the symptoms in the latter were milder than those in the unvaccinated group.