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A preprint study first published on MedRxiv that claimed a 1 in 1,000 risk of contracting myocarditis from a COVID-19 vaccination has been withdrawn due to miscalculations.

MedRxiv is a website that publishes studies that have yet to be peer-reviewed, according to Reuters.

The study was first published on September 16 and conducted by researchers at The University of Ottawa Heart Institute. It was widely used to promote the idea that the COVID-19 vaccine is unsafe for use.

However, the study has been retracted due to a miscalculation, Reuters reported.

The rate of myocarditis - the inflammation of the heart muscle - was calculated by dividing the number of COVID-19 vaccines in Ottawa by the number of incidences of the heart condition.

By their calculations, the risk of myocarditis was 1 in 1,000 or 0.1%.

However, the numbers used by the study were wrong. The authors largely underestimated the amount of vaccines delivered, giving a number 25 times smaller than the actual amount.

They initially said that the number of vaccines delivered was 32,379 – when it was actually 854,930.

As a result of this miscalculation, the study was withdrawn on September 24, with the researchers saying in a statement: "Our reported incidence appeared vastly inflated by an incorrectly small denominator (ie number of doses administered over the time period of the study). We reviewed the data available at Open Ottawa and found that there had indeed been a major underestimation, with the actual number of administered doses being more than 800,000

"In order to avoid misleading either colleagues or the general public and press, we the authors unanimously wish to withdraw this paper on the grounds of incorrect incidence data," they added.

The University of Ottawa Heart Institute also issued a statement of apology for any misinformation being spread as a result of this study.

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New York real estate heir Robert Durst has tested positive for Covid-19 and is currently connected to a ventilator, his attorney said.

“All we know he’s tested positive for Covid-19, he’s in hospital and on a ventilator," Dick DeGuerin told NBC News on a phone call. "He looked awful Thursday, worst I’ve ever seen him. He was having difficulty breathing, he was having difficulty speaking."

His diagnosis comes the same week he was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a friend more than 20 years ago, in a slaying possibly tied to the killer's missing wife.

On Thursday, the Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mark Windham handed down that punishment one month after jurors convicted Durst, 78, of first-degree murder for the Dec. 23, 2000, death of Susan Berman. Berman was shot at point-blank range in the back of the head inside her Benedict Canyon home. Durst's lawyers plan to appeal the judge's decision.

DeGuerin said he believes Durst was vaccinated, but didn’t know if he had a Covid-19 vaccine booster.

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Recipients of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine should not be concerned about the shot's lower efficacy now that boosters have been recommended, White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.

"I think that they should feel good about it because what the advisers to the FDA felt is that given the data that they saw, very likely this should have been a two-dose vaccine to begin with," he said Sunday.

The FDA vaccine advisory panel unanimously recommended booster shots for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine Friday. The panel recommended all J&J recipients 18 years and older to get an additional jab as early as two months after the first dose -- key differences from their recommendations for the Moderna and Pfizer boosters which were only for Americans 65 and older or in higher risk groups.

The decision came days after early data released from a National Institutes of Health study found that boosting with a different shot than one's original vaccine appears to be safe and effective. The data, which is not yet peer reviewed, also found that for J&J recipients, antibody levels were higher if they received a Moderna or Pfizer booster rather than a J&J booster.

Raddatz pressed Fauci on whether mixing and matching vaccine boosters for J&J recipients would be a better idea.

“But, Dr. Fauci, the panel was also looking at new data that suggest J&J recipients may be better off getting a booster shot from the more effective Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Is that a better solution?" Raddatz asked.

“That is true, the data you refer to, that if you boost people who have originally received J&J with either Moderna or Pfizer, the level of antibodies that you induce in them is much higher than if you boost them with the original J&J,” Fauci said.

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Originally posted by wtg:

I'm still kinda holding out....I got Pfizer but am thinking about getting a Moderna booster if the studies show it's a good idea. We're pretty cloistered so I think I can risk the wait....

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Mix and match is a go.