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Medicine Science

Heart Problems After Vaccination Are Very Rare, Federal Researchers Say (nytimes.com) 176

The coronavirus vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna may have caused heart problems in more than 1,200 Americans, including about 500 who were younger than age 30, according to data reported on Wednesday by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Still, the benefits of immunization greatly outweighed the risks, and advisers to the C.D.C. strongly recommended vaccination for all Americans 12 and older. The New York Times: The heart problems reported are myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle; and pericarditis, inflammation of the lining around the heart. The risk is higher after the second dose of an mRNA vaccine than after the first, the researchers reported, and much higher in men than in women. But overall, the side effect is very uncommon -- just 12.6 cases per million second doses administered. The researchers estimated that out of a million second doses given to boys ages 12 to 17, the vaccines might cause a maximum of 70 myocarditis cases, but would prevent 5,700 infections, 215 hospitalizations and two deaths. Agency researchers presented the data to members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which makes recommendations on vaccine use in the United States. (The scientists grouped pericarditis with myocarditis for reporting purposes.) Most cases were mild, with symptoms like fatigue, chest pain and disturbances in heart rhythm that quickly cleared up, the researchers said. Of the 484 cases reported in Americans under age 30, the C.D.C. has definitively linked 323 cases to vaccination. The rest remain under investigation.
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Heart Problems After Vaccination Are Very Rare, Federal Researchers Say

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  • No way. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Black Parrot ( 19622 ) on Friday June 25, 2021 @02:35AM (#61519184)

    How in the heck does a mind-control chip inserted into the deltoid cause heart problems?

    • by zm ( 257549 )

      How in the heck does a mind-control chip inserted into the deltoid cause heart problems?

      Bad 5G coverage in the area.

    • How in the heck does a mind-control chip inserted into the deltoid cause heart problems?

      It interacts with the magnetizition the vaccine causes.

    • Well, it is complicated, but has to do with the current they generate from all those 5G signals, of course.
  • by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Friday June 25, 2021 @02:48AM (#61519194) Journal

    Myocarditis is a common side effect of coronavirus, and even the flu. So if myocarditis is something that worries you, then you should get the vaccine and probably flu shots, too.

    • by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 25, 2021 @03:06AM (#61519226)
      I don't understand how people can rationalize *not* getting vaccinated: statistically speaking you're orders of magnitude more likely to contract the 'rona and die than you are to suffer from clots after AZ or *cardia after Pfizer, so it's a no-brainer to be risk-averse and get vaccinated.
      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by jlar ( 584848 )

        I don't understand how people can rationalize *not* getting vaccinated: statistically speaking you're orders of magnitude more likely to contract the 'rona and die than you are to suffer from clots after AZ or *cardia after Pfizer, so it's a no-brainer to be risk-averse and get vaccinated.

        I agree with most of what you say. But the data for the 12-17 year old children has just started rolling in and it is also obvious that the cost-benefit analysis for them is different than for older people. But it does in fact seem like they would benefit from getting one of the safer vaccines. It is however not clear whether this will be the case for even younger children.

        That said, you may also want to look at other risk factors for young people than Covid-19. Ok, so maybe 3-4 out of a million in that age

        • by jlar ( 584848 )

          *) Ok, so maybe 3-4 out of a million in that age range will die if they contract the virus. -> Ok, so maybe 3-4 out of a million in that age range will die from the virus if they are not vaccinated.

        • by Rei ( 128717 ) on Friday June 25, 2021 @05:08AM (#61519370) Homepage

          You do realize that there are other consequences apart from death, don't you? Just to pick a random one. [medrxiv.org] Does not require hospitalization, and in fact, in young adults, long-term post-infection complications are disturbingly common after mild infections.

          Heck, we're literally talking about one of those consequences of infection (myocarditis, which is rarely fatal with treatment, but can be serious) in this thread. The most common cause of myocarditis is viruses. Here's the risk ratio of hospitalization from COVID vs. having a case of myocarditis by age group [substack.com], based on current US infection and hospitalization rates. Except that the number on the left will be rising strongly in younger age groups over the coming month due to Delta, which spreads easily among the young and has double the risk of hospitalization after accounting for age, vaccination status, etc.

          More concerningly re: Delta: I've been following the UK numbers closely (the UK is a nice case study of the spread of Delta through a well-vaccinated country). There were two main hopes with the new wave. One, that due to the younger cohort and fact that the vaccinated who do get infected tend toward milder infection, hospitalizations would be down. Thusfar, this appears to be being realized. And two, that for the same reasons, those that were hospitalized would have a better prognosis, as is usually the case. However, just the opposite seems to be happening. The rate of growth in ventilator bed occupancy due to COVID has been significantly faster than the rate of growth in general COVID bed occupancy. This is even more concerning because ventilators are a more lagging indicator. This needs watching, but it's not an encouraging sign.

          But again, to reiterate:

          1) It is not about "whether you die or don't die". There's serious long-term consequences associated with COVID, even with mild infections in a sizable minority of cases (esp. in young adults)

          2) The spread of the disease through a partially-vaccinated population is a perfect breeding ground for vaccine evasion (akin to taking only half a dose of antibiotics)

          • by jlar ( 584848 )

            You do realize that there are other consequences apart from death, don't you?

            Yes. And if you read my post you will see that I would recommend getting vaccinated if you are 12 years or older. For the younger children the data are not in yet.

            More concerningly re: Delta: I've been following the UK numbers closely (the UK is a nice case study of the spread of Delta through a well-vaccinated country). There were two main hopes with the new wave. One, that due to the younger cohort and fact that the vaccinated who do get infected tend toward milder infection, hospitalizations would be down. Thusfar, this appears to be being realized. And two, that for the same reasons, those that were hospitalized would have a better prognosis, as is usually the case. However, just the opposite seems to be happening. The rate of growth in ventilator bed occupancy due to COVID has been significantly faster than the rate of growth in general COVID bed occupancy. This is even more concerning because ventilators are a more lagging indicator. This needs watching, but it's not an encouraging sign.

            But we do not know (?) the age distribution of those in ventilators. It could well be that a large proportion of the older UK population has been vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine which is much less effective against the Delta variant (67%). And if it is also worse at protecting against serious cases that may be the explanation. But I guess

            • by MrL0G1C ( 867445 )

              AstraZeneca vaccine which is much less effective against the Delta variant (67%)

              Yes but 67% what? 67% of people don't get symptoms? But the people in the other 33% aren't ending up in hospital they're just getting mild symptoms and can pass the virus on to other people AFAIK. The important thing is that vaccinated people are far less likely to need intensive care in a hospital.

              The other important thing is that people of all ages are far less likely to end up with long COVID if they get vaccinated, currently

            • by Rei ( 128717 )

              which is much less effective against the Delta variant (67%)

              AZ is 92% effective against hospitalization from Delta, vs. 95% for Pfizer. Both work well at preventing hospitalizations.

        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          by fafalone ( 633739 )
          Not only does covid carry the higher possibility of death, it's more likely to cause this heart inflammation, and causes MIS-C (multi system inflammatory syndrome in children). Not to mention all the other problems. Long covid, long term lung problems, long term brain fog? Vaccine doesn't cause that at all. So why would you compare *only* death, against any side effect?? Whatever the side effect from the vaccine, covid is way more likely to cause that, cause a bunch of other problems, and cause death. What
          • by jlar ( 584848 )

            Not only does covid carry the higher possibility of death, it's more likely to cause this heart inflammation, and causes MIS-C (multi system inflammatory syndrome in children). Not to mention all the other problems. Long covid, long term lung problems, long term brain fog? Vaccine doesn't cause that at all. So why would you compare *only* death, against any side effect?? Whatever the side effect from the vaccine, covid is way more likely to cause that, cause a bunch of other problems, and cause death. What an obnoxiously stupid take, par for the antivaxxer course.

            You obviously did not understand my post. My point is not that youngsters should not get the vaccine. If you read my post you will see that I acknowledge that the evidence is suggesting that they should at least down to 12 years of age. And yes, part of that is the non-lethal effects of Covid-19. So get the vaccine and move on.

            My point is that the Covid-19 discussion is overshadowing more serious issues that children are facing. Covid-19 is simply not anywhere near the top of the list of the biggest threats

            • by Daetrin ( 576516 )

              My point is that the Covid-19 discussion is overshadowing more serious issues that children are facing. Covid-19 is simply not anywhere near the top of the list of the biggest threats to the health of children. And sure a comparison of number of deaths is simplistic. For all of these problems the actual number of children that die are only the tip of the iceberg.

              This seems like a weird take? Yes there are a lot of other issues that pose a higher risk to young people than Covid. However we don't happen to have a vaccine lying around that will prevent those other issues.

              Yes the question of whether/how children should be vaccinated is being approached with greater urgency than might be merited strictly on the direct risk to them, but per the above point it is something we do have a relatively simple and effective fix for, and it doesn't do a lot of good to sit arou

        • Re: (Score:2, Flamebait)

          by jbengt ( 874751 )

          Ok, so maybe 3-4 out of a million in that age range will die if they contract the virus. But at the same time around 260 kids per million (US numbers) will die of other causes one of the leading ones being suicide which has increased greatly during the epidemic.

          Are you sure? [healthline.com]

          (emphasis added)

          • by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

            The whole COVID and suicide thing is fascinating. People are just so sure it has to be true, even the ones who aren't using it as an excuse for being selfish dicks.

        • by Synonymous Cowered ( 6159202 ) on Friday June 25, 2021 @08:50AM (#61519930)

          But at the same time around 260 kids per million (US numbers) will die of other causes one of the leading ones being suicide which has increased greatly during the epidemic.

          Citation needed. This has been one of the claims all along, but it hasn't been backed up by data. The preliminary statistics from the CDC actually indicated suicides decreased in 2020. In response, I've heard some claims that it increased for kids (while decreasing overall) but I haven't seen any data that backs it up. Those claims are mostly based on anecdotes (ie: my kids pediatrician says she's seen a 50% increase in suicide attempts). I have seen some examples based on faulty analysis of data. For example, there was some data from some county in Wisconsin or Minnesota (sorry, don't recall the specifics) which showed teen suicide rates increased. Except when I dug further in, the conclusion I saw was that 2019 was actually an unexplained aberration, being statistically out of line with yearly data from 2015 to 2018, and that 2020 was just a return to the norm.

          I had hoped to dig into the CDC data to figure out if there were any age specific trends in suicide rates, but I was unable to find where to get any of the raw data from. But it's been several months since that data was released by the CDC, and I've yet to see any reports that even just the youth-specific claims are backed up by the CDC data. And that makes me very suspicious that it is not.

          So again, where is your evidence of this?

      • by hey! ( 33014 )

        It's very easy to rationalize whatever the people around you believe. All the more so because we do it habitually. Most of us aren't aware how much we rationalize decisions that have been made *for us* by our circumstances.

        If you were born in the 15th Century you'd almost certainly believe in witchcraft. If you read witch hunting manuals from the time, the thing that's striking about them is how the authors are unlike what you'd expect; they are neither stupid, ignorant, nor fools. Monty Python and the

      • I don't understand how people can rationalize *not* getting vaccinated: statistically speaking you're orders of magnitude more likely to contract the 'rona and die than you are to suffer from clots after AZ or *cardia after Pfizer, so it's a no-brainer to be risk-averse and get vaccinated.

        The anti-vaxxer arm of the Republican party is not very good with number cypherin'. So if one person is badly affected by the vaccination, it outweighs 600,000 plus dying of the disease the vaccine is created to defend against.

      • I can answer that.
        (for context, my first shot was AZ, and my second will be pfizer in four days, woohoo!)

        When it comes to being rational, I personally should have not gotten vaccinated at all yet. I should have waited for the third-generation vaccines, probably next summer, when everything is known, and tested, and long-term results are well understood.

        That's because for me, personally, I lose nothing by being isolated at home, enjoy it, and have ways to deal with the mental health consequences. Mine's be

      • You are overestimating the average intelligence. Go read some threads on ar15.com and you will realize how absolutely, absurdly stupid many people are. These are the same people who can't differentiate between "X people have died after receiving the vaccine and so far no patterns" and "OMG X people have been killed by the vaccine, the CDC even sed sozzzz!".

        Absolute fucking bottom feeders, and frankly many of them can't die soon enough. That said I know some people who are actually decent people otherwise bu

      • who recently did an hour long video on the birth of the anti vaxx movement and you'll understand.

        The TL DR is the media gives the theories credence because hey, free ratings, there's a ton of crooks out there willing to fake data and it's super quick to make fake data and slower than dirt to prove the data is fake. Sorta like how debunking 5 minutes of lies takes 30 minutes.

        Oh, and politics. There are people with a vested interest in keeping vaccination rates low because it's been shown to hurt the
    • by gweihir ( 88907 ) on Friday June 25, 2021 @03:12AM (#61519234)

      Well, everybody not vaccinated will get COVID. Also, with the Delta variant, about 85% immunity is needed for herd-immunity. There is only one sane decision in the face of these numbers: Get vaccinated. Those that chose not to endanger others, themselves and lengthen the crisis.

      • by jlar ( 584848 )

        Well, everybody not vaccinated will get COVID. Also, with the Delta variant, about 85% immunity is needed for herd-immunity. There is only one sane decision in the face of these numbers: Get vaccinated. Those that chose not to endanger others, themselves and lengthen the crisis.

        Do you have an authoritative reference for the "about 85% immunity" needed for the Delta variant? Just so that we can establish the facts. The only information I have found is speculation that it may be "up to 85%" which is not quite what you state. Facts matter.

        • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

          by gweihir ( 88907 )

          Nobody has hard facts. We will only have these afterwards. Current expert estimates are around 85% with Delta. Here are some references:
                https://www.aerzteblatt.de/nac... [aerzteblatt.de]
          And no, I do not have an English source.

        • by Rei ( 128717 )

          It's a complex measure regardless. The virus does not care about national stats. E.g. if you vaccinated everyone in 85% of your states / provinces but 0% in the others, it'll happily spread through those you didn't vaccinate. The same can happen with non-geographic divisions based on association. People tend to associate most with others of similar ages, for example. So if young people tend not to get vaccinated, you can have the disease readily spread through the non-immune young population even if th

          • by gweihir ( 88907 )

            Pretty much so, yes. That is why some experts think that with the Delta variant, herd immunity will be practically impossible and this thing will be with us for a very long time.

        • The thing is, we really dont know where we sit on that scale right now. We only know percentage vaccinated. The ones who acquired immunity the exposure way are the unknown element. Especially with the asymptomatic thst never tested or sought treatment. We do know that those who acquired covid last year are still immune one year later. So that bit is promising.
          • by gweihir ( 88907 )

            Immunity from infection is a lot worse than from a full vaccination. In fact, if you know you had it you still get the second vaccine shot here, as having had COVID is about as good as the first shot only. Say, 60% effective or so. Incidentally, that is why there are people that had COVID twice and why naturally, there will not be any herd immunity.

            • by e3m4n ( 947977 )
              the number of people that got covid twice compare statistically the same as those vaccinated still contracted covid-19. As of April, 90 million americans were fully vaccinated but only around 9000 people contracted covid. That puts it in the 0.0009 percent chance of getting it. Chances are high that those that got covid twice would have gotten covid after vaccination too. I read an article that was saying those that got covid and then went on to get fully vaccinated might never need a booster shot as their
            • Immunity from infection is a lot worse than from a full vaccination.

              No it isn't. Real world symptomatic reinfection is exceedingly rare.

              • by dgatwood ( 11270 )

                Immunity from infection is a lot worse than from a full vaccination.

                No it isn't. Real world symptomatic reinfection is exceedingly rare.

                Yes, it is. Real-world symptomatic reinfection is nowhere near as rare as breakthrough infections after vaccination. COVID infection reduces reinfection rate by about 84%, whereas the vaccine reduces it by about 95%. So you're about 3x as likely to be reinfected with COVID as you are to have a breakthrough case after vaccination.

        • by Geoffrey.landis ( 926948 ) on Friday June 25, 2021 @07:38AM (#61519670) Homepage

          Well, everybody not vaccinated will get COVID. Also, with the Delta variant, about 85% immunity is needed for herd-immunity.

          Do you have an authoritative reference for the "about 85% immunity" needed for the Delta variant?

          The herd immunity level is determined by the reproduction factor, R0 (the number of people that each infected individual would infect, if none of them were immune.) Specifically, if the fraction of immune people in a population is X, then the virus reaches steady state (each case leads to exactly one new case) when R0(1-X) = 1.
          You need X higher than that to give herd immunity. If R0(1-x) = 0.5, for example, the virus will exponentially decay with a time constant of one generation.

          R0 for the delta variant is estimated as around 5. This source, for example, says 5:
            https://www.thestar.com/news/g... [thestar.com]
            (some other sources suggest as high as 8)

          At R0=5, 80% immune would lead to the virus in steady state. 90% immune would give you that exponential decay with time constant 1 generation. "Herd immunity" comes somewhere between those, so 85% is a reasonable number.

    • 1200 is a very small number. We also dont know anything about these 1200. Are they morbidly obese couch potatoes? Are they track stars? Without knowing the fitness level of their heart prior to inoculation, it is really not enough to go on. As its a very mild case of cardio or pericardio is merely taking a monster dose of 4 1g omega-3 capsules daily after injection for 3 weeks enough to offset thr inflamation, should you be flagged as having a weak heart.
    • Well maybe people should drink some coffee [hopkinsmedicine.org] to offset the effect?

  • by Maxo-Texas ( 864189 ) on Friday June 25, 2021 @05:14AM (#61519378)

    https://www.the-scientist.com/... [the-scientist.com] ..
    ESPN reports that COVID-19 has been linked with myocarditis at a higher frequency than other viruses have been, based on limited studies and anecdotal evidence. A recent study of 100 patients in Germany found that 60 percent suffered from myocarditis following their COVID-19 diagnoses, independent of pre-existing conditions. ..
    Also...
    When they imaged the hearts of 26 Ohio State University players using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), they found evidence of myocarditis in 15 percent, while a further 30 percent had cellular damage or swelling that could not be linked definitively to the condition. ...
    To assess the presence of myocarditis in college athletes that have recovered from COVID-19, the authors selected 26 students at Ohio State University, including men and women. None of the participants, who played football, soccer, lacrosse, basketball, or track, had previous heart conditions before being tested. ...
    All 26 participants had contracted the coronavirus between June and August and had their cases verified using a PCR test. The timing between their diagnosis and their subsequent testing for myocarditis varied between 11 days to almost two months. Twelve of the athletes reported mild symptoms while sick, while the rest were asymptomatic. ...
    ---
    Also, Dr. John Campbell covered data showing even people with mild Covid19 in UK had raise Troponin levels for up to 10 weeks afterwards. Troponin indicates heart cells are dying-- and they do not regrow unlike other body cells.

  • by JoeyRox ( 2711699 ) on Friday June 25, 2021 @07:07AM (#61519592)
    According to the CDC's COVID-19 mortality data by age [cdc.gov], only 324 children in the USA between the ages of 0-17 have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by sabbede ( 2678435 )
      And how much do you want to bet that they had compromised immune systems and so wouldn't be given the vaccine? Seems there's a good chance that the safe route is not vaccinating anyone under 17.
      • I'm sorry, I just got up. Didn't catch the part in the summary that said yes, they're trading 2 deaths for 70 potentially fatal heart conditions. I have a friend who needed a pacemaker in his 30's because of that.
    • by Geoffrey.landis ( 926948 ) on Friday June 25, 2021 @07:42AM (#61519676) Homepage

      A good statistic to know.

      I do point out, however, that you are comparing deaths to a side effect featuring "symptoms like fatigue, chest pain and disturbances in heart rhythm that quickly cleared up".

      • I do point out, however, that you are comparing deaths to a side effect featuring "symptoms like fatigue, chest pain and disturbances in heart rhythm that quickly cleared up".

        That's a fair point. Myocarditis in these young people typically clears up quickly but keep in mind several hundred had to be hospitalized (although that stat includes people up to age 30, so not clear how many are in the 0-17 age group). Plus Myocarditis is only one side effect we're currently aware of since it's so immediate afte
  • Burying the lede (Score:2, Informative)

    by arit ( 1338477 )

    The main story here is not the unusually high myocarditis linked to the Pfizer vaccine, but the fact that this was publicly known for at least 1.5 months before the CDC was willing to acknowledge it (see https://www.pecc.org.il/docs/r... [pecc.org.il]).

    Indeed, until June 22 at 6:23pm, the WHO was emphatically recommending that "Children should not be vaccinated for the moment" (see https://agile.bu.edu/poc/often [bu.edu]), in part as a result of this finding.

    • by dgatwood ( 11270 )

      It's still two or three orders of magnitude lower than your risk of getting myocarditis after actually getting sick with COVID at that age. They're being cautious, which is generally a good thing. That's not saying that the public should be concerned.

      If anything, I'm a little concerned that they might be being too cautious. Double-digit myocarditis cases, most of which went away in a week without treatment is really not alarming. It is just *barely* outside the margin of error for kids in that age grou

  • From the very beginning, they have done nothing but lie to us.

  • "strongly recommended vaccination for all Americans 12 and older."
    Really? Because I've had allergic reactions to 2 out of the last 8 vaccines I've had and one put me in the hospital (MMR vaccine) and anyone who had verifiably had COVID does not need the shot and is at way higher risk of a reaction from it since they already have T-cells against it. So back in reality they're lying or the article is lying.
    • by godrik ( 1287354 )

      Obviously people who are allergic to it should probably not get vaccinated. This is actually the point of the recommendation, you want all people who can be vaccinated to be vaccinated so that you protect those who can not be vaccinated.

    • If you haven't already, you should figure out what ingredients are common to both vaccines and which you're reacting to. After that you'll be able to vaccinate safely with any formulation that doesn't contain the ingredients that are giving you trouble.
  • You're going to vaccinate a million kids to save two lives and there are serious side effects, some resulting in death?

    You could have bought them all bike helmets and saved far more lives. Or taught them all CPR. Or Epistemology.

    Covid requires symptomatic or presymptomatic hosts to spread with an R(0) > 1 and kids rarely get symptomatic.

    Oh, is there a billion dollars at stake for Pharma? By all means, then.

    • by godrik ( 1287354 )

      Well, the side effects of the virus are worse and more common than the side effect of the vaccine. And if we don't reach herd immunity (which is basically at virtually everyone gets vaccinated), then you will get infected eventually. So your personal health outcomes ARE better with the vaccine than without the vaccine.

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