A study in JAMA Cardiology on April 20: “SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination and Myocarditis in a Nordic Cohort Study of 23 Million Residents,” has shown that “both first and second doses of mRNA vaccines were associated with increased risk of myocarditis and pericarditis. For individuals receiving 2 doses of the same vaccine, risk of myocarditis was highest among young males (aged 16-24 years) after the second dose.” According to the study: “The risk of myocarditis in this large cohort study was highest in young men after the second SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dose” and it concluded, “this risk should be balanced against the benefits of protecting against severe COVID-19 disease.”
“A new study involving 23 million people proves a COVID-19 vaccine side effect — once labeled “misinformation” — is real.
So claimed comedian, writer and political commentator Jimmy Dore on the Monday episode of “The Jimmy Dore Show.”
Dore examined an April 21 article in the U.K.’s Express, “Vaccine Study of 23 Million Shows Risk of ‘Heart Problems’ from Moderna or Pfizer Jab.”
The article reported on an investigation published online in JAMA Cardiology on April 20: “SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination and Myocarditis in a Nordic Cohort Study of 23 Million Residents.”
The JAMA study vindicates commentators who discussed connections between heart problems and the COVID-19 vaccines months or even years ago — and who were dismissed or vilified, said Dore.
Podcaster Joe Rogan, for instance, was harshly criticized and accused of spreading “misinformation” when he first discussed the vaccine-myocarditis connection.
But according to the study, “both first and second doses of mRNA vaccines were associated with increased risk of myocarditis and pericarditis. For individuals receiving 2 doses of the same vaccine, risk of myocarditis was highest among young males (aged 16-24 years) after the second dose.”
Specifically, among young men receiving two doses of the same vaccine, between four and seven excess myocarditis and pericarditis events occurred in 28 days per 100,000 vaccinees after the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine, and between nine and 28 excess myocarditis and pericarditis events occurred per 100,000 vaccinees after the second dose of the Moderna vaccine.
The study concluded, “The risk of myocarditis in this large cohort study was highest in young men after the second SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dose” and recommended, “this risk should be balanced against the benefits of protecting against severe COVID-19 disease.”
Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle that can lead to cardiac arrhythmia and death. Pericarditis is inflammation of the tissue surrounding the heart that can cause sharp chest pain and other symptoms. The Defender has featured stories of people developing myocarditis and pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccinations.
Dore pointed out that Denmark in October 2021 suspended administration of the Moderna vaccine to people younger than 18, while Sweden did the same for people under 30.
Dore also recalled the days when Kamala Harris and Joe Biden expressed hesitancy about vaccination when then-president Donald Trump endorsed it.
When people form an opinion about the vaccines based on the political climate, not on data, it shows they are either wedded to their fear or disingenuous, he said.”
“Question Is SARS-CoV-2 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccination associated with risk of myocarditis?
Findings In a cohort study of 23.1 million residents across 4 Nordic countries, risk of myocarditis after the first and second doses of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines was highest in young males aged 16 to 24 years after the second dose. For young males receiving 2 doses of the same vaccine, data were compatible with between 4 and 7 excess events in 28 days per 100 000 vaccinees after second-dose BNT162b2, and between 9 and 28 per 100 000 vaccinees after second-dose mRNA-1273.
Meaning The risk of myocarditis in this large cohort study was highest in young males after the second SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dose, and this risk should be balanced against the benefits of protecting against severe COVID-19 disease.
Abstract
Importance Reports of myocarditis after SARS-CoV-2 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccination have emerged.
Objective To evaluate the risks of myocarditis and pericarditis following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination by vaccine product, vaccination dose number, sex, and age.
Design, Setting, and Participants Four cohort studies were conducted according to a common protocol, and the results were combined using meta-analysis. Participants were 23 122 522 residents aged 12 years or older. They were followed up from December 27, 2020, until incident myocarditis or pericarditis, censoring, or study end (October 5, 2021). Data on SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations, hospital diagnoses of myocarditis or pericarditis, and covariates for the participants were obtained from linked nationwide health registers in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
Exposures The 28-day risk periods after administration date of the first and second doses of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, including BNT162b2, mRNA-1273, and AZD1222 or combinations thereof. A homologous schedule was defined as receiving the same vaccine type for doses 1 and 2.
Main Outcomes and Measures Incident outcome events were defined as the date of first inpatient hospital admission based on primary or secondary discharge diagnosis for myocarditis or pericarditis from December 27, 2020, onward. Secondary outcome was myocarditis or pericarditis combined from either inpatient or outpatient hospital care. Poisson regression yielded adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and excess rates with 95% CIs, comparing rates of myocarditis or pericarditis in the 28-day period following vaccination with rates among unvaccinated individuals.
Results Among 23 122 522 Nordic residents (81% vaccinated by study end; 50.2% female), 1077 incident myocarditis events and 1149 incident pericarditis events were identified. Within the 28-day period, for males and females 12 years or older combined who received a homologous schedule, the second dose was associated with higher risk of myocarditis, with adjusted IRRs of 1.75 (95% CI, 1.43-2.14) for BNT162b2 and 6.57 (95% CI, 4.64-9.28) for mRNA-1273. Among males 16 to 24 years of age, adjusted IRRs were 5.31 (95% CI, 3.68-7.68) for a second dose of BNT162b2 and 13.83 (95% CI, 8.08-23.68) for a second dose of mRNA-1273, and numbers of excess events were 5.55 (95% CI, 3.70-7.39) events per 100 000 vaccinees after the second dose of BNT162b2 and 18.39 (9.05-27.72) events per 100 000 vaccinees after the second dose of mRNA-1273. Estimates for pericarditis were similar.
Conclusions and Relevance Results of this large cohort study indicated that both first and second doses of mRNA vaccines were associated with increased risk of myocarditis and pericarditis. For individuals receiving 2 doses of the same vaccine, risk of myocarditis was highest among young males (aged 16-24 years) after the second dose. These findings are compatible with between 4 and 7 excess events in 28 days per 100 000 vaccinees after BNT162b2, and between 9 and 28 excess events per 100 000 vaccinees after mRNA-1273. This risk should be balanced against the benefits of protecting against severe COVID-19 disease.”