When replying to a news story about how Lebron James’ son Bronny suffered from cardiac arrest, Elon Musk suggested the medical emergency could have been linked to the Covid-19 vaccine.
He tweeted, “We cannot ascribe everything to the vaccine, but, by the same token, we cannot ascribe nothing. Myocarditis is a known side-effect. The only question is whether it is rare or common.”
Yale School of Medicine wrote on its website that myocarditis, or swelling of the heart muscle, “is a rare side effect of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, which have been used with great success as protection against the SARS CoV-2 virus and its variants.”
The 18-year-old son of the basketball superstar was rushed to hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest during a basketball workout on Monday.
According to TMZ, a James family spokesperson said: “Yesterday while practising, Bronny James suffered a cardiac arrest. Medical staff were able to treat Bronny and take him to the hospital.
“He is now in stable condition and no longer in ICU. We ask for respect and privacy for the James family and we will update media when there is more information,” the spokesperson added.
The rising star has committed to playing for the USC next season, with an understanding that he’ll likely be drafted into the NBA soon.
California Rep Ted Lieu reacted to Mr Musk, tweeting: “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.’”
Journalist Ben Adler similarly tweeted: “Myocarditis is a more common side effect of covid itself than of the vaccine.”
Political strategist and daughter of Nancy Pelosi, Christine Pelosi echoed this finding: “Praying for #bronnyjames’ full recovery. Since Mr X has decided - once again - to weaponize conspiracy theories that exacerbate a public family’s private pain - here are the FACTS: Myocarditis is a more common side effect of COVID than of the vaccine.”
This isn’t the first time the Twitter owner has questioned the vaccine and pushed conspiracies about the virus.
He tweeted last month that while he is “generally pro vaccine,” Mr Musk added, “the world obviously went crazy with excess vaccination against ‘Covid-19’. I have that in quotes, because the RNA sequences changed so much that I called it the virus of Theseus,” Mr Musk continued. “So many people I know had serious side effects from the vaccines, including myself. Failure to acknowledge that is a lie.”
This tweet sounds similar to one he posted in April 2021, when he wrote: “To be clear, I do support vaccines in general & covid vaccines specifically. The science is unequivocal. In very rare cases, there is an allergic reaction, but this is easily addressed with an EpiPen.”
He also suggested last year that Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading immunologist and White House adviser for the Covid-19 pandemic, be prosecuted. “My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci,” he tweeted. He also called the pandemic at-home restrictions “fascist.”
By November 2022, Twitter, his company, announced it was “no longer enforcing the Covid-19 misleading information policy.”
