diff --git a/changelog.d/12879.misc b/changelog.d/12879.misc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..24fa0d0de0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/12879.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Avoid running queries which will never result in deletions.
diff --git a/synapse/federation/sender/per_destination_queue.py b/synapse/federation/sender/per_destination_queue.py
index d80f0ac5e8..8983b5a53d 100644
--- a/synapse/federation/sender/per_destination_queue.py
+++ b/synapse/federation/sender/per_destination_queue.py
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ class PerDestinationQueue:
         """Marks that the destination has new data to send, without starting a
         new transaction.
 
-        If a transaction loop is already in progress then a new transcation will
+        If a transaction loop is already in progress then a new transaction will
         be attempted when the current one finishes.
         """
 
diff --git a/synapse/storage/databases/main/event_push_actions.py b/synapse/storage/databases/main/event_push_actions.py
index b7c4c62222..b019979350 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/databases/main/event_push_actions.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/databases/main/event_push_actions.py
@@ -938,7 +938,7 @@ class EventPushActionsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
         users can still get a list of recent highlights.
 
         Args:
-            txn: The transcation
+            txn: The transaction
             room_id: Room ID to delete from
             user_id: user ID to delete for
             stream_ordering: The lowest stream ordering which will
diff --git a/synapse/storage/databases/main/receipts.py b/synapse/storage/databases/main/receipts.py
index d035969a31..cfa4d4924d 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/databases/main/receipts.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/databases/main/receipts.py
@@ -673,8 +673,11 @@ class ReceiptsWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             lock=False,
         )
 
+        # When updating a local users read receipt, remove any push actions
+        # which resulted from the receipt's event and all earlier events.
         if (
-            receipt_type in (ReceiptTypes.READ, ReceiptTypes.READ_PRIVATE)
+            self.hs.is_mine_id(user_id)
+            and receipt_type in (ReceiptTypes.READ, ReceiptTypes.READ_PRIVATE)
             and stream_ordering is not None
         ):
             self._remove_old_push_actions_before_txn(  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
diff --git a/synapse/storage/persist_events.py b/synapse/storage/persist_events.py
index 0fc282866b..a21dea91c8 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/persist_events.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/persist_events.py
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@ class EventsPersistenceStorage:
             List of events persisted, the current position room stream position.
             The list of events persisted may not be the same as those passed in
             if they were deduplicated due to an event already existing that
-            matched the transcation ID; the existing event is returned in such
+            matched the transaction ID; the existing event is returned in such
             a case.
         """
         partitioned: Dict[str, List[Tuple[EventBase, EventContext]]] = {}