Talk about straight from the medical horse’s mouth. A new study in the leading medical journal. JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) found that Pfizer’s Covid-19 shot is associated with a 133-times greater risk of heart inflammation for teenage boys. researchers with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concluded: “Based on passive surveillance reporting in the US, the risk of myocarditis after receiving mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines was increased across multiple age and sex strata and was highest after the second vaccination dose in adolescent males and young men. This risk should be considered in the context of the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination.” I suppose it was too much to suppose that the logical conclusion would have been inferred, that as youth are low risk for severe effects from Covid, maybe give this heart inflammation risk, they should not be vaccinated at all. But, be grateful for small mainstream mercies.
“Pfizer’s COVID-19 shot is associated with a 133-times greater risk of heart inflammation for teenage boys, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
The study, published last month by researchers with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found that myocarditis skyrocketed in men between 12 to 24 years old after both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s mRNA COVID jabs, Israel National News reported.
Myocarditis is a type of heart inflammation that has repeatedly been linked to COVID vaccines. The study authors noted that the condition can be serious and can lead to heart failure and death.
The researchers said that “the risk of myocarditis after receiving mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines was increased across multiple age and sex strata,” but that the disease particularly impacts young men. Eighty-two percent of myocarditis cases examined in the study were in males, and the median age of patients was 21. The vast majority of cases – 82 percent – followed a second shot.
The risk was highest after Pfizer vaccination. Boys between 12 and 15 years old had a myocarditis rate of 70.7 cases of per million Pfizer doses – 133 times higher than the background rate of .53 per million, according to the study. For young men ages 16 to 17, the rate was 106 cases per million doses, a 79-times increase from the baseline risk of 1.34 cases per million doses.
The myocarditis rate in men between 18 and 24 years old was 52.4 cases per million Pfizer shots and 56.3 per million Moderna doses. The background rate was just 1.76 per million doses.
The study analyzed data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a vaccine injury tracking system managed by the CDC and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), from December 2020 to August 2021. Out of 1,991 VAERS reports of myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination, 1,626 met the CDC’s case definition, according to the researchers.
The most common symptoms included abnormal ECG or cardiac MRI results (72 percent) and chest pain or discomfort (89 percent). Around 30 percent of patients also reported shortness of breath, and 9 percent had heart palpitations. Symptoms typically developed within two days of inoculation, the authors said.
Ninety-six percent of patients were hospitalized, and 13 percent continued to have symptoms after being discharged from the hospital.
The myocarditis cases are most likely underestimated, the CDC study emphasized. VAERS is a passive surveillance system, and research shows that it significantly undercounts vaccine injuries.
Other recent studies have found even greater COVID vaccine-related heart inflammation risks for young men. A November article from Hong Kong estimated that one in 2,680 boys between 12-17 years old will develop the condition within two weeks of a second Pfizer dose.”
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2788346
Original Investigation
January 25, 2022
Myocarditis Cases Reported After mRNA-Based COVID-19 Vaccination in the US From December 2020 to August 2021
Matthew E. Oster, MD, MPH1,2,3; David K. Shay, MD, MPH1; John R. Su, MD, PhD, MPH1; et alJulianne Gee, MPH1; C. Buddy Creech, MD, MPH4; Karen R. Broder, MD1; Kathryn Edwards, MD4; Jonathan H. Soslow, MD, MSCI4; Jeffrey M. Dendy, MD4; Elizabeth Schlaudecker, MD, MPH5; Sean M. Lang, MD5; Elizabeth D. Barnett, MD6; Frederick L. Ruberg, MD6; Michael J. Smith, MD, MSCE7; M. Jay Campbell, MD, MHA7; Renato D. Lopes, MD, PhD, MHS7; Laurence S. Sperling, MD1,2; Jane A. Baumblatt, MD8; Deborah L. Thompson, MD, MSPH8; Paige L. Marquez, MSPH1; Penelope Strid, MPH1; Jared Woo, MPH1; River Pugsley, PhD, MPH1; Sarah Reagan-Steiner, MD, MPH1; Frank DeStefano, MD, MPH1; Tom T. Shimabukuro, MD, MPH, MBA1
Author Affiliations Article Information
JAMA. 2022;327(4):331-340. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.24110
Key Points
Question What is the risk of myocarditis after mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccination in the US?
Findings In this descriptive study of 1626 cases of myocarditis in a national passive reporting system, the crude reporting rates within 7 days after vaccination exceeded the expected rates across multiple age and sex strata. The rates of myocarditis cases were highest after the second vaccination dose in adolescent males aged 12 to 15 years (70.7 per million doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine), in adolescent males aged 16 to 17 years (105.9 per million doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine), and in young men aged 18 to 24 years (52.4 and 56.3 per million doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine and the mRNA-1273 vaccine, respectively).
Meaning Based on passive surveillance reporting in the US, the risk of myocarditis after receiving mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines was increased across multiple age and sex strata and was highest after the second vaccination dose in adolescent males and young men.
Abstract
Importance Vaccination against COVID-19 provides clear public health benefits, but vaccination also carries potential risks. The risks and outcomes of myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination are unclear.
Objective To describe reports of myocarditis and the reporting rates after mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccination in the US.
Design, Setting, and Participants Descriptive study of reports of myocarditis to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) that occurred after mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine administration between December 2020 and August 2021 in 192 405 448 individuals older than 12 years of age in the US; data were processed by VAERS as of September 30, 2021.
Exposures Vaccination with BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) or mRNA-1273 (Moderna).
Main Outcomes and Measures Reports of myocarditis to VAERS were adjudicated and summarized for all age groups. Crude reporting rates were calculated across age and sex strata. Expected rates of myocarditis by age and sex were calculated using 2017-2019 claims data. For persons younger than 30 years of age, medical record reviews and clinician interviews were conducted to describe clinical presentation, diagnostic test results, treatment, and early outcomes.
Results Among 192 405 448 persons receiving a total of 354 100 845 mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines during the study period, there were 1991 reports of myocarditis to VAERS and 1626 of these reports met the case definition of myocarditis. Of those with myocarditis, the median age was 21 years (IQR, 16-31 years) and the median time to symptom onset was 2 days (IQR, 1-3 days). Males comprised 82% of the myocarditis cases for whom sex was reported. The crude reporting rates for cases of myocarditis within 7 days after COVID-19 vaccination exceeded the expected rates of myocarditis across multiple age and sex strata. The rates of myocarditis were highest after the second vaccination dose in adolescent males aged 12 to 15 years (70.7 per million doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine), in adolescent males aged 16 to 17 years (105.9 per million doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine), and in young men aged 18 to 24 years (52.4 and 56.3 per million doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine and the mRNA-1273 vaccine, respectively). There were 826 cases of myocarditis among those younger than 30 years of age who had detailed clinical information available; of these cases, 792 of 809 (98%) had elevated troponin levels, 569 of 794 (72%) had abnormal electrocardiogram results, and 223 of 312 (72%) had abnormal cardiac magnetic resonance imaging results. Approximately 96% of persons (784/813) were hospitalized and 87% (577/661) of these had resolution of presenting symptoms by hospital discharge. The most common treatment was nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (589/676; 87%).
Conclusions and Relevance Based on passive surveillance reporting in the US, the risk of myocarditis after receiving mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines was increased across multiple age and sex strata and was highest after the second vaccination dose in adolescent males and young men. This risk should be considered in the context of the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination.”