Thanks for compiling this. I don't recall where it fell in the timeline but an important moment for me was the David Zweig piece in Wired where he carefully explained the flaws of the CDC's methodology for downplaying myocarditis. That mattered because it was printed in a mainstream magazine and the facts stated were very clear. From that moment forward every journalist, "public health" expert or so on who pretended to know nothing about this was explicitly averting their eyes.
The suspicion is that the CDC, maybe under explicit orders from Biden, went ahead with universal vaccine recommendations despite the carditis problem because, as we've heard indications of, the agency didn't want to send any nuanced messages that could lead to "hesitancy."
They patted themselves on the back during ACIP meetings about their thoroughness and transparency around vaccine safety, saying that they thought it was helping to build trust. But for many, all it did was demonstrate that they would go to great lengths to ensure that any discussion led to the CDC's predetermined nuance-free outcome.
April 1, 2022: The CDC released a controversial MMWR analysis of cardiac complications after Covid versus vaccination, claiming that in teen boys and young men, cardiac complications from Covid were higher after mRNA vaccination. This analysis was based on electronic health records, so it only included Covid cases that were severe enough to seek medical attention, skewing the myocarditis after Covid rates higher. NBC News reported on this, explicitly stating that it “may be reassuring to those reluctant to get their teenage boys vaccinated.”
Hate to jump into comments on an otherwise awesome essay with a correction, but I think this section should say "complications from Covid were higher than after mRNA vaccination."
Thanks for compiling this. I don't recall where it fell in the timeline but an important moment for me was the David Zweig piece in Wired where he carefully explained the flaws of the CDC's methodology for downplaying myocarditis. That mattered because it was printed in a mainstream magazine and the facts stated were very clear. From that moment forward every journalist, "public health" expert or so on who pretended to know nothing about this was explicitly averting their eyes.
You are so right - that was a great piece that definitely added to the public awareness. I will add it to the timeline. Thanks for the suggestion.
The suspicion is that the CDC, maybe under explicit orders from Biden, went ahead with universal vaccine recommendations despite the carditis problem because, as we've heard indications of, the agency didn't want to send any nuanced messages that could lead to "hesitancy."
They patted themselves on the back during ACIP meetings about their thoroughness and transparency around vaccine safety, saying that they thought it was helping to build trust. But for many, all it did was demonstrate that they would go to great lengths to ensure that any discussion led to the CDC's predetermined nuance-free outcome.
April 1, 2022: The CDC released a controversial MMWR analysis of cardiac complications after Covid versus vaccination, claiming that in teen boys and young men, cardiac complications from Covid were higher after mRNA vaccination. This analysis was based on electronic health records, so it only included Covid cases that were severe enough to seek medical attention, skewing the myocarditis after Covid rates higher. NBC News reported on this, explicitly stating that it “may be reassuring to those reluctant to get their teenage boys vaccinated.”
Hate to jump into comments on an otherwise awesome essay with a correction, but I think this section should say "complications from Covid were higher than after mRNA vaccination."
Ah, yes - thank you for catching that!