Miscalculations in Covid-19 study: Risk of myocarditis lower than anticipated.

Due to some miscalculations, a pre-print article which was previously published on MedRxiv that claimed a 1 in 1,000 risk of myocarditis from a COVID-19 immunisation has been withdrawn.

According to Reuters, MedRxiv is a website where studies that are yet to be peer-reviewed, are published.

The study that was conducted by scientists at The University of Ottawa Heart Institute, was first published on 16th of September. It was widely shared and hyped by the anti-vaxxers to promote the idea that the vaccination against Covid-19 was unsafe for the people.

However, due to the miscalculations, the study is withdrawn by the researchers.

Clarification: In the study, the rate of myocarditis was calculated by dividing the number of coronavirus vaccines in Ottawa by the number of incidences of myocarditis. Myocarditis is a heart condition where the patient develops inflammation of the heart muscles.

The miscalculations estimated the risk of myocarditis to be 1 in 1,000, which is 0.1 percent. As the numbers used in the vaccine study were wrong, the risk of heart inflammation was overestimated.

The researchers used a number that was 25 times smaller than the actual number of vaccines delivered. The number of vaccines delivered was 854,930, and the number that was used for the calculations was 32,379.

The study was retracted on September 24th as a result of this error. The researchers said in a statement, that their reported incidence was dramatically exaggerated by an inappropriately tiny denominator (ie number of doses administered over the time period of the study). We examined the data at Open Ottawa and discovered that there had been a significant miscalculation, with the real number of delivered doses exceeding 800,000.

A statement of apology for the misinformation that was spread as a result of this study was also issued by the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to emphasise the necessity of taking the vaccine, claiming that any potential hazards are substantially exceeded by the benefits.