Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk claimed Saturday morning that he had an adverse reaction to his second COVID booster, which made him feel like he was “dying.”
Musk, the world’s second richest man, made his comments in response to a Rasmussen Reports survey which estimated that about 12 million people had self-reported major reactions to the COVID vaccine.
“I had major side effects from my second booster shot. Felt like I was dying for several days. Hopefully, no permanent damage, but I dunno,” Musk tweeted.
And my cousin, who is young & in peak health, had a serious case of myocarditis. Had to go to the hospital.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 21, 2023
Musk added that it was not his choice to get the second booster, but needed to in order to get into Tesla Giga Berlin, a manufacturing plant for Tesla in Germany.
The entrepreneur also said that he had not experienced any problems with the original COVID vaccines he had taken, but that the second booster “crushed” him.
“I had OG C19 before vaccines came out and it was basically a mild cold. Then I had J&J vaccine with no bad effects, except my arm hurt briefly. First mRNA booster was ok, but the second one crushed me,” Musk said.
I had OG C19 before vaccines came out and it was basically a mild cold.
Then had J&J vaccine with no bad effects, except my arm hurt briefly.
First mRNA booster was ok, but the second one crushed me.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 21, 2023
According to Musk, his cousin had to be hospitalized due to myocarditis after taking the vaccine. “And my cousin, who is young & in peak health, had a serious case of myocarditis. Had to go to the hospital,” he said.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says that there is a “rare risk” for myocarditis following mRNA vaccination, especially in young males 16 or older.
“In April 2021, increased cases of myocarditis and pericarditis were reported in the United States after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna). Data from multiple studies show a rare risk for myocarditis and/or pericarditis following receipt of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines,” the CDC says.
Musk’s comments come as the CDC announced last week that it would be investigating after a government safety monitoring system detected a potential stroke risk for those 65 and older who received Pfizer’s bivalent shot.
“CDC’s Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), a near real-time surveillance system, met the statistical criteria to prompt additional investigation into whether there was a safety concern for ischemic stroke in people ages 65 and older who received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent,” the CDC said in a statement.
The concerning VSD signal has caused the agency to question whether those 65 and older who received Pfizer’s bivalent COVID vaccine were at an increased risk of having an ischemic stroke up to three weeks after their vaccination compared to 22-44 days after the shot. The CDC said Moderna’s bivalent COVID vaccine was not identified for the same risk by its monitoring system.
Despite some concerns, the CDC still recommends the COVID vaccine and its boosters to those eligible.
Zach Jewell contributed to this report.