A photo shared on Facebook purports sports journalist Grant Wahl died of an aortic aneurysm caused by the COVID-19 vaccine. 

Verdict: False

An autopsy discovered that Wahl’s death was caused by an aortic aneurysm, but was unrelated to his vaccination status.

Fact Check:

Wahl was covering the World Cup in Qatar last weekend when he died from an aortic aneurysm, according to ESPN. The journalist’s death was the subject of much controversy, with some speculating that he had been murdered due to an article criticizing the Qatari government for immigrant deaths, The New York Times reported.

A Facebook post claims Wahl’s death was caused by the COVID-19 vaccine. The post features several syringe emojis, a tweet and an article from the Daily Mail.

“Fully [vaccinated] sports journalist Grant Wahl #diedsuddenly of an Aortic aneurysm,” the tweet reads. “A known side effect caused by the Covid 19 Vaccine. His wife was part of the Covid 19 medical advisory board- both were VERY [pro-vaccination].” This tweet cited garnered over 900 retweets.

There is no evidence for this claim, however. Check Your Fact no credible news reports to confirm that the COVID-19 vaccine was a cause of Wahl’s death.   

Wahl’s wife, Céline Gounder, wrote a blog post on Wahl’s Substack addressing the claim. (RELATED: No, The WHO Director Did Not Say That Vaccines Kill Children)

On behalf of myself and our family, I want to express our deepest gratitude for the outpouring of support, love, and sympathy from around the world. Here is a message from our family and the latest update surrounding our beloved Grant:https://t.co/jPsggW6gfd

— Céline Gounder, MD, ScM, FIDSA 🇺🇦 (@celinegounder) December 14, 2022

“An autopsy was performed by the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office,” she wrote. “Grant died from the rupture of a slowly growing, undetected ascending aortic aneurysm with hemopericardium. His death was unrelated to COVID. His death was unrelated to vaccination status. There was nothing nefarious about his death.”

In a review released by the National Library of Medicine, aortic aneurysms can be a by-product of the COVID-19 infection, but does not mention the vaccine.

The claim was originally posted by the Twitter account for Died Suddenly, a film that attributes sudden deaths to COVID-19 vaccine without evidence, according to Forbes.

This is not the first time misinformation has spread online. Check Your Fact recently debunked a claim the NRA banned guns from their events.