This is quite incredible. The National Institute of Health (NIH) issued a press release written by idiots. Thanks to @KelleyKga for spotting this.
The NIH study was “Myocardial Injury in Severe COVID-19 Compared With Non-COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.” The key word in the title is “severe.” Here’s what the research says:
We included intubated patients with COVID-19 from 5 hospitals between March 15 and June 11, 2020, …
Results: Of 243 intubated patients with COVID-19, 51% had troponin levels above the upper limit of normal. Chronic kidney disease, lactate, ferritin, and fibrinogen were associated with myocardial injury
And here’s how the NIH interpreted this finding:
The cytokine release by activated immune cells may contribute to myocardial injury, which is observed in up to 50% of patients.
(click for larger image)
Unfortunately, that 50% figure only applies to ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) patients, a small percentage of all COVID patients. NIH completely misinterpreted the results and did so in a way that should have been obvious to anyone with a three-digit IQ. Truly a NIH press release written by idiots.
Here’s Kelley’s takedown followed by the full paper and the NIH press release.
