Buffalo Bills defensive backÌýDamar Hamlin has been discharged from the Buffalo General Medical Center, a week after suffering a cardiac arrest on the field during an NFL game against the CincinnatiÌýBengals on Jan. 2. Social media posts claim his cardiac arrest was related to a COVID-19 vaccine shot he received a few days earlier. This is false. Doctors who treated Hamlin have said the cause of his collapse on the field has not been determined.ÌýÌý
Social media users of a tweet appearing to be from an account named "Dr. Benjamin Eidelman" claiming he gave Hamlin a COVID-19 booster shot on Dec. 26. The tweet 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 colors. I am in contact with the UCMC staff and will provide any assistance to them."  The users linked the claim to Hamlin’s cardiac arrest without evidence of such link and without proof the account claiming to be a doctor isÌýreal.ÌýÌýÌý
Posts containing similar claims have been shared hundreds of times onÌý,  a²Ôd . Ìý
Rating: False
Buffalo Bills said Hamlin suffered a Ìýafter a hit during the Jan. 2 match.ÌýÌý
The team said Hamlin’s heartbeat was restored on the field and he was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical CenterÌýfor testing and treatment.ÌýÌý
During a news conference, Dr. William A. Knight IV, a physician and professor in the department of emergency medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine,Ìýsaid the Buffalo Bills medical staff started immediate resuscitation on the field using CPR and defibrillation after Hamlin’s collapse. He said Hamlin was staying at the hospital’s surgical ICU and that he was gradually recovering.Ìý
He said it was not clear for the medical team .Ìý
“We do not have definitive answers as to the etiology of the arrest at this time and tests will continue to be ongoing as he continues to progress,†Knight said.Ìý
The tweet from the "Dr. Benjamin Eidelman" Twitter account was shared after Hamlin’s collapse, but the account is no longer active on the social media platform and no archives of the tweet exist,Ìýwhich means the screenshot is either fake or the user who owned the account deleted it after sharing the tweet.ÌýÌý
The account, @drbeneidelman, was created just last month, according to anÌý.ÌýThe account bio described the user as an “Artist†andÌý“Data Scientist.â€Ìý
°Õ³ó±ð  in the United States bar health care providers from sharing private health information about their patients.ÌýÌý
Buffalo Bills announced on Monday that Hamlin was released from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and was transferred to Buffalo General Hospital.ÌýOn Wednesday, the team announced Hamlin was discharged from Buffalo General and is now rehabilitating at home. Ìý
Sources
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