Teens are more likely to suffer from heart inflammation from vaccines than hospitalization with COVID-19: study



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The two main COVID-19 vaccines used in the United States are more likely to land teens in hospital than COVID-19 itself, according to a new study.

Researchers analyzing reports submitted to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a passive reporting system operated by U.S. health officials, found that the rate of adverse cardiac events in men aged 12 to 15 with no problems of Serious underlying health after getting their second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 was up to 6 times higher than their risk of hospitalization for COVID-19.

Boys aged 16 or 17 without medical comorbidities were also more likely to experience a serious side effect after the second dose of the vaccines, which are based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, compared to infection. by COVID-19, an illness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are by far the most widely used COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. Pfizer’s is the only drug regulator approved and the only one used in children 12 to 17 years old.

More than 8 in 10 adverse cardiac events (ACEs) result in hospitalization.

The researchers, led by Dr. Tracy Hoeg, an epidemiologist at the University of California at Davis, also said the data shows that the same male population is less likely to need hospital care after vaccination if they have to. less a medical comorbidity, or a serious pre-existing condition such as kidney disease, and that young girls are much less at risk of heart inflammation or other adverse cardiac event.

Researchers searched the VAERS for reports filed between January 1 and June 18 among adolescents ages 12 to 17 who received mRNA vaccination against COVID-19. The search for symptoms included chest pain and three inflammatory heart conditions – myocarditis, pericarditis and myopericarditis – all reports to include the word troponin. A total of 276 reports met the search criteria, of which 18 were excluded due to the lack of objective evidence of elevated troponins.

All but one of the reports included in the final analysis were Pfizer post-vaccination.

The research parameters extended to those used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to identify probable cases of adverse cardiac events (ACEs) including the symptom of chest pain, which resulted in high rates of post-vaccination events 2.5 times higher in boys aged 12 to 15 than those reported by the CDC.

“For boys with no underlying health problem, the risk of CEA, or hospitalization for CEA, after their second dose of mRNA vaccination is considerably higher than their risk of 120 days of COVID- hospitalization. 19, even in times of peak disease prevalence. The long-term consequences of this vaccine-associated heart inflammation are not yet fully defined and should be investigated, ”the researchers concluded in their study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed and has been published (pdf) on the medrxiv server.

They said the United States may consider following the lead of countries like Germany and Norway in refraining from recommending vaccination against COVID-19 of healthy children, who are at low risk of developing serial illness after contracting the illness.

Another possible option is to recommend a single dose of a vaccine built on messenger RNA.

“We are looking for a nuanced policy that takes into account the differences in risk between men and women, which begins [around] age 6, ”wrote on Twitter Allison Krug, an epidemiologist at Artemis Biomedical Communications who was one of the researchers.

Vinay Prasad, associate professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco, was among those who circulated the study, describing it as “an explosive discovery” that corroborates previous reports about the risk of heart inflammation after the vaccination in young people.

Vaccines
Used vials of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were empty at a University of Nevada vaccination center in Las Vegas on January 22, 2021. (John Locher / AP Photo)

Others questioned the results, including Frank Han, an Illinois-based cardiologist, who argued that cases of myocarditis can only be confirmed with MRI scans.

“Why do we have MRI criteria for myocarditis? To avoid accidentally diagnosing every troponin positive teenager with myocarditis (and cry wolf). You release troponin right after exercise, ”he wrote on Twitter.

The CDC, a leading U.S. health agency, said it does not comment on or change its policy based on studies not done by the agency.

The CDC earlier this year reported higher than expected rates of myocarditis in vaccinated youth. At a meeting last month, the CDC said data up to Aug. 18 showed far higher myopericarditis cases than expected after the second dose of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. There have been 117 cases in men aged 12 to 15, for example, when it was expected that there would be no more than five.

Dr John Su, a member of the CDC’s COVID-19 Vaccine Working Group, told the meeting that the agency is conducting enhanced surveillance by looking at longer-term outcomes in people with heart inflammation after received a COVID-19 vaccine.

Dr Nicola Klein of the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center presented data regarding post-vaccination cardiac inflammation from the Vaccine Safety Datalink, a database from the CDC, and nine other healthcare groups, including five Kaiser Permanente facilities. These data also showed higher than expected cases in young people after vaccination.

The CDC, however, still recommends two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and President Joe Biden on Thursday urged parents to get their children vaccinated.

“The known risks of COVID-19 and its potentially serious complications, such as long-term health problems, hospitalization and even death, far outweigh the potential risks of having a rare adverse reaction to the disease. vaccination, including the possible risk of myocarditis or pericarditis, ”the CDC says on its website.

But the agency’s vaccine advisory committee says people who have developed myocarditis or pericarditis after an initial dose of an mRNA vaccine should “postpone receiving the second dose” until data is available. additional security are available.

Most cases of myocarditis result in brief phases of hospitalization, according to data presented at the recent meeting. No deaths have been confirmed among the cases, according to US officials.

Some countries recommend that children get the COVID-19 vaccine, although there have been different levels of differentiation between children with and without serious underlying health conditions.

The United Kingdom’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, for example, recommends that healthy children do not receive a COVID-19 vaccine until more data on safety and effectiveness become available.

The benefits do not outweigh the risks, the panel said in July, citing reports of post-vaccination heart inflammation.

The Pfizer and Moderna injections were accompanied by warnings from US drug regulators over the summer of cases of heart inflammation seen after vaccination.

The Pfizer Comirnaty vaccine, which is not yet available, is approved for people 16 years of age and over and emergency use authorization for children between 12 and 15 years of age. No other vaccine is authorized for this population.

Zachary Stieber

Zachary Stieber covers American news, including politics and court affairs. He started at The Epoch Times as a reporter for the New York subway.

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