Did not mean to "dismiss" the conclusions in the new study per se. For example, one potential source of the contrast is that many of the studies in the Stat News article were focused on young (or young-ish) athletes, while the VA study is entirely military veterans.

The biggest standout difference I see is that the largest study in that article is for 3,000 covid cases, whereas this one is on 153,000.

Those 3,000 cases were actively monitored for cardiac issues, while the VA study is purely passive and observational (which the article itself raises as a caveat). It's not just a matter of comparing raw sample sizes.

I love this kind of discussion where people seek truth and do their best to remove biases. Keep up the good work, we need much more ppl like you!