A viral video circulating online alleges to show a coroner examining a dead patient and removing a blood clot caused by the COVID-19 vaccine.
The video, uploaded to X this week by Alabama-based funeral director and embalmer Richard Hirschman, highlights what is described as a “strange white fibrous clots” located in a patient’s jugular vein.
“This is a video of me removing one of the strange white fibrous clots, from the right jugular vein,” Hirschman said. “The person who was recording it is Nicky King, who is also an embalmer. I didn’t notice it until I lifted the vessel up. I could feel it inside the vein.”
Hirschman does not outright blame vaccinations but alleges that he did not begin finding such clots until “early 2021,” around the exact same time as when the vaccine became publicly available.
Unsurprisingly, Hirschman’s post was flooded with remarks from anti-vaccine advocates who argued that the so-called clot was undeniably caused by the COVID shot.
“Rest in peace in advance to all the people who got the shot who will still keep dying from it. We’ve got millions more to go,” prominent health conspiracy theorist Erin Elizabeth responded. “So grateful I didn’t get the damn thing. Rest in peace to my own family members in advance. They’ve refused to listen.”
“God I am so glad I didn’t get vaccinated,” another X user said. “It’s out of pure rebellion that I didn’t … When the government says do something I automatically do the opposite because I don’t trust them.”
Since the vaccine’s rollout, conspiracy theorists have made numerous false claims about the shots’ contents. Anti-vaxxers allege that the vaccine has been spiked with everything from parasitic worms to booby-trapped microchips.
Many feared the vaccine could cause dangerous clots in the bloodstream, which this video appeared to validate. But Hirschman’s claims, however, are receiving pushback from medical professionals.
A consultant haematologist, Dr. Roddy Neilson, remarked that the alleged clot was actually what is known as a “chicken fat thrombus.”
“It occurs post mortem due to blood stasis. It’s been observed for decades. It’s not a new ‘pathology,’,” Dr. Neilson wrote. “FYI I’m a haematologist who used to do PMs in the past when a histopathology trainee. Stop misleading people.”
The post itself was hit with a Community Note that likewise described Hirschman’s claims as misleading. At no point does Hirschman confirm the vaccination status of the patient either.
Nevertheless, the sensational claims and footage continue to go viral across numerous social media sites.
Although evidence has shown an uptick in blood clots in the wake of the pandemic, analysis has revealed that individuals who catch COVID are significantly more likely to experience issues than those who were vaccinated.
Aside from blood clots, COVID-19 is also known to cause blood vessel inflammation and other damage to those affected. And as further noted by PolitiFact, blood clots were found in those with COVID long before the vaccine became available.
