Eric Clapton’s Health Issues Likely Caused By Preexisting Condition, Not Vaccine

Misbar’s investigation found that Clapton’s pre-existing health conditions are likely to be the cause of the musician’s health issues, not the coronavirus vaccine. Clapton had a pre-existing condition called peripheral neuropathy, which affects the nerves in his hands. He mentions this condition in the viral video, but social media posts neglect to mention it, and many of the articles bury it deep in their text.

Clapton has previously stated that the effects of his condition have been severe. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, he told Classic Rock Magazine that he had been struggling to play the guitar. In 2018, he said that his hands “just about” worked. And in 2014, he claimed that the pain of this condition was becoming unbearable. His claims of vaccine issues such as fever and shaking are typical vaccine side effects, but the other issues he described are more likely caused by his ongoing peripheral neuropathy. 

In May, Reuters reported that the European Union was reviewing the possibility that the AstraZeneca vaccine may have a rare chance of creating Guillian-Barre syndrome, which is a nerve degenerating disorder. However, it has not been confirmed that the AstraZeneca vaccine can cause this syndrome. The associate professor of the School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy at Newcastle University, Nathan Bartlett, has stated there is minimal cause for concern over the occurrence of Guillian-Barre syndrome. He stated that as of May 14th, the syndrome had been reported six times following the application of 1.8 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines in Australia. He also highlighted that the condition was treatable in several ways and that the condition was very rarely fatal, meaning that the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the risks. 

Some research has been conducted into the potential for coronavirus vaccines to cause health problems in people with pre-existing neuropathy. One review comes from the Italian Peripheral Nervous System Association (ASNP,) which analyzed the evidence and consulted a range of experts. This work resulted in the association recommending coronavirus vaccines to people with neuropathies. Additionally, in the U.S., the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy stated that coronavirus was far more dangerous than vaccines for people with peripheral neuropathy.

Lastly, Clapton spends significant time in the video promoting Robin Monotti's Telegram channel, which frequently produces misinformation about coronavirus and its vaccines. For instance, the channel calls the vaccines gene therapy, which they are not. On the very same day as this claim, the channel claimed that the Moderna vaccine diminishes estrogen and promotes the development of cancer. The only evidence for this claim is an image of a bucket of a white substance being thrown into a chicken run and an anonymous message, where the author claims to be two engineers who work for Moderna. But there is no reason to believe that this message and image actually do come from Moderna. We could find no evidence to support these claims. 

As Clapton has previously stated that his condition was debilitating, a range of experts of Clapton’s condition has recommended the vaccines as safer than coronavirus, and as the musician frequently refers to a Telegram channel that pushes easily debunked misinformation, we rate the claim as commotion.