A viral post claiming NFL star Damar Hamlin received a Covid-19 booster shot a week before suffering massive cardiac arrest mid-game has gone viral on social media. Since the dubious claim is made from now deleted-account in the name of one "Dr. Benjamin Eidelman," its authenticity could not be verified.
The Bills star was hit in the chest during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night before he collapsed mid-game. Hamlin was administered CPR for several minutes along with on-field medical attention before being transported to University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
Who is Dr Benjamin Eidelman?
Hours after Hamlin's collapse in the field, a twitter handle under the name of Dr. Benjamin Eidelman claimed that the 24-year-old was administered a Covid-19 booster shot a week ago.
While the original tweet was unavailable, a screenshot of the same read, "I recently administered Damar Hamlin's Covid booster on 12/26, and as a medical professional, I can assure the public he passed all screenings with flying colours. I am in contact with the UCMC staff and will provide any assistance to them."
The account appears to have disappeared from the microblogging platform. The notification reads, "This account doesn't exist," meaning the account has been deleted by the user.
Snopes reported that Dr. Benjamin Eidelman is a neurologist in Jacksonville, Florida. The outlet further reported that the neurologist is a much older-looking man in comparison to the person whose picture was used in the fake account on Twitter.
Speculations on Social Media
Even though the tweet held no authenticity, the same led to a lot of speculations on social media.
"You can shove it! We've watched athletes from around the world in various sports drop like flies on the field after they were forced to take a bioweapons Covid jab. Damar Hamlin had a bioweapons booster just days before he suffered Cardiac Arrest~a proven side effect of the jab," tweeted a user.
"Can anybody tell me how/why Damar Hamlin, a professional athlete and seemingly healthy 24 year old man would have a heart attack on the field? Was he vaccinated for Covid 19? Did he recently get a Covid booster?" wrote another.
"I am not in the loop of information but, seems Damar Hamlin received a COVID booster on 12/26/22 and I am waiting for the Doctors to say if this contributed to his coronary attack ? And help me to understand why a young man enjoying excellent health would even takes these shots," opined a user.
"If Damar Hamlin actually just had a COVID booster, it is certainly something to look at. Not as a conspiracy theory but as a way of following the science. A portion of the population may have problems with the mRNA technology. It should be investigated," read a tweet.
