VF Email templates Boolean merge fields Automated Process User is always false

Question

Use case:

1. Trigger subscribes to Platform Event (hence running user = Automated Process)
2. Trigger creates SObject w/ checkbox field set to TRUE
3. Process Builder executes based on SObject values, generates VF Email

Result: In the rendered VF Email, the Boolean field displays as FALSE, even though the relatedTo value in the database is true

If the SObject is inserted manually by anyone other than the Automated Process user, the VF email renders the database field correctly as TRUE

Highly-related issue although symptoms observed are different than mine.

Here's the markup of the VF Email template:

<messaging:emailTemplate subject="Test VF template for platform events" recipientType="Contact" relatedToType="Log__c">
<messaging:htmlEmailBody >
This is a VF email template with embedded VF components. By way of reference, 
these are the values from the relatedTo object:
<ul>
 <li>ID:{!relatedTo.Id}</li>
 <li>Source__c:{!relatedTo.Source__c}</li>
 <li>Is_Success__c:{!relatedTo.Is_Success__c}</li>  <!-- The boolean field -->
 <li>CreatedDate:{!relatedTo.CreatedDate}</li>
 <li>CreatedBy.Name:{!relatedTo.CreatedBy.Name}</li>
</ul>
</messaging:htmlEmailBody>
</messaging:emailTemplate>

Rendered email (Running User = Automated Process)

This is a VF email template with embedded VF components. By way of reference, these are the values from the relatedTo object:
ID:a2jq0000001aveTAAQ
Source__c:PEVFTest Subject
Is_Success__c:false . <<<--- WRONG value !!?!!
CreatedDate:Fri Sep 21 15:07:36 GMT 2018
CreatedBy.Name:Automated Process

Rendered email (Running User != Automated Process)

This is a VF email template with embedded VF components. By way of reference, these are the values from the relatedTo object:
ID:a2jq0000001aveYAAQ
Source__c:PEVFTest Subject
Is_Success__c:true .  <<<----- correct value
CreatedDate:Fri Sep 21 15:10:29 GMT 2018
CreatedBy.Name:Fred Fubar

N.B. I'm also aware of (and can duplicate) this Automated Process user issue with VF Components with their own controller wherein you get Process builder Flow Error:

CANNOT_EXECUTE_FLOW_TRIGGER, We can't save this record because the “xxx” process failed. 
Give your Salesforce admin these details. 
This error occurred when the flow tried to create records: 
INSUFFICIENT_ACCESS_OR_READONLY: 
user does not have access to use approval assignment email template

Answer 1

I've found a few other similar posts. No answers yet, but they all point to the context user being the automated process user.

Try subscribing to the event using Process Builder or Visual Flow, instead of with a trigger. That way you can avoid the automated process user, and run in context of the user who initiated the event.

Take a look:

https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=000270230&language=en_US&type=1

Answer 2

The only workaround I have found for this is to change the context user for the trigger-subscribing to the Platform Event. This feature wasn't available when I posted the question initially but has since been added as of Spring 21

It requires deploying a PlatformEventSubscriberConfig for each Platform Event that sends emails using VF Email.

In our org, we have a dedicated user with basically Modify All Data permissions that we assign as the configured user for each Platform Event, thereby eliminating these annoying Automated Process user restrictions