Category: Covid-19 Vaccine

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Researchers from NDORMS and the University of Oslo have successfully replicated findings from recently published international studies on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines to prevent long COVID and post-acute complications.

The new study, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, is a part of a project to assess the "impact of COVID vaccination to prevent long COVID" led by Professor Daniel Prieto Alhambra and Dr. Annika Jdicke. Using data from Estonia, Spain and the UK including 20 million patients, the first pieces of work were published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine and Heart.

Both studies showed that COVID-19 vaccination reduced the risk of long COVID and post-acute complications. The analyses were done using federated analytics (analysis that is performed on multiple, often geographically, separated datasets) on the the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM).

The research team in Norway led by Professor Hedvig Nordeng and Dr. Nhung Trinh have recently mapped data from several nationwide linked health registries covering primary and secondary care events, vaccinations, and communicable disease notifications into OMOP CDM as part of the European Health Data and Evidence Network. They applied the publicly available scripts and successfully replicated the findings from Estonia, Spain and UK.

COVID-19 vaccines reduced the risk of developing long COVID symptoms across all study cohorts by 36%. Although post COVID-19 thromboembolic and cardiovascular complications were rare, they also found a reduced risk for post-COVID ATE (arterial thrombosis) during the acute phase and for heart failure and VTE (venous thromboembolism) during the post-acute phases in older people following vaccination.

Dr. Jdicke commented, "We are very excited to see that the Norwegian vaccine effectiveness results are supporting our previous findings of a reduction in risk of long COVID, and post-COVID cardiac and thromboembolic complications."

Trinh, Researcher at PharmaSafe research group, at the University of Oslo, said, "We are glad that our study provides reassuring evidence on the COVID-19 vaccination effectiveness. I really believe that OMOP Common Data Model and federated analytics are the future of real-world evidence research. Extensive efforts are required at the harmonization phase but once the data are in OMOP format, several studies relying on multinational data can be conducted very efficiently."

Professor Alhambra added, "This work demonstrates the value of federated analytics based on the OMOP CDM to make real-world evidence reliable and reproducible."

Nordeng, head of the Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety research group at the University of Oslo, concurs, "This study showcases the efficiency of our data analytical pipeline at the University of Oslo using the OMOP common data model.

"It marks an exciting milestone, opening avenues for our involvement in a new era of rapid and robust federated real-world studies on disease history, drug utilization, drug safety, and vaccine effectiveness. This study is an excellent start of this collaboration."

This study strengthens the findings on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination in preventing long COVID and post-acute complications. It also confirmed the usefulness of federated analytics and OMOP CDM that can be easily applied across national borders.

More information: Nhung TH Trinh et al, Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines to prevent long COVID: data from Norway, The Lancet Respiratory Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1016/S2213-2600(24)00082-1

Journal information: Lancet Respiratory Medicine

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COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness: Results from Norway demonstrate the reproducibility of federated analytics - Medical Xpress

Consumers love having choices, even when it comes to vaccines, according to new research from the University of Oregon.

In studies conducted during the height of the pandemic, researchers found Americans are more willing to vaccinate against COVID-19 if theyre allowed to choose between multiple vaccine brands rather than being assigned to one. As vaccination rates for preventable, infectious diseases like measles decline in the United States, the findings could help improve public health policy and the way that vaccines are presented.

What psychologists call the pleasure of choice may be a simple, though partial, solution to increasing vaccine uptake for many different diseases, saidEllen Peters, director of theCenter for Science Communication Research in UOsSchool of Journalism and Communication. When multiple options exist, people feel empowered if theyre given a choice and, as a result, like the option they chose more than if they didnt have the chance to make the decision themselves.

Thats the scenario we faced with COVID-19 vaccines, said Peters, also a professor in psychology. Whether it's choosing Coke over Pepsi or one outfit over another, there's a pleasure from choosing that causes people to feel more positive about what they get.

Peters and her colleagues conducted two separate online surveys in December 2020 and June 2021 to study Americans real-time perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccines during their authorization and roll-out. Their findings[LO1] published Thursday, April 11, 2024, in theJournal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition.

Unlike with the common flu shot, Americans had the unusual opportunity to decide between different vaccines for COVID-19, said Brittany Shoots-Reinhard, asenior research associate at the Center for Science Communication Research andresearch assistant professor of psychology at Ohio State University. Multiple pharmaceutical companies were racing to rapidly develop a vaccine, which left room for extensive discussion on the relative merits of the various brands, she said.

To confirm if people were more likely to consider vaccination if given a choice among multiple vaccines, the researchers first surveyed Americans in early December 2020, when the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was given emergency-use authorization, with Moderna close behind. They presented all participants with information on both vaccines, including their risks and effectiveness, but half had the option to choose their preferred vaccine while the other half was assigned one.

Of those given a choice, 44 percent of participants reported being likely or certain to get vaccinated compared to 23 percent of those told which one they would get.

The pleasure of choice also seems to encourage vaccination among unvaccinated people. The researchers conducted a similar survey in June 2021, after the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was also authorized, to assess vaccine and booster shot perceptions between unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals. Having a choice among Pfizer, Moderna andJohnson & Johnson vaccines increased vaccine and booster intentions in both groups.

The pleasure of choice is often discussed with consumer products, but its not really something we think about with health care decision-making, Shoots-Reinhard said. There hasn't been a lot of research where you get to choose a vaccine and, in this case, simply being offered one of the better vaccines didnt increase vaccine willingness. It really was offering options and allowing choice that gave vaccination intentions a boost.

The pleasure of choice, however, is not a magic bullet to improving vaccine uptake, the researchers warn.

Highlighting the pleasure of choice is only a partial solution, Peters said. It's not going to be the only thing needed to convince people to get vaccines. But it did work across our studies with vaccinated and unvaccinated populations. So, when multiple kinds of vaccines exist, providing a choice may make a difference.

Moreover, while choice makes people feel only more positive toward their chosen option, they also feel more negative toward the rejected options. If those options remain viable, however, that should be noted in public health messaging, the researchers said.

Anytime people are offering choices, it should be emphasized that those rejected options may nonetheless be good options for you later, Peters said. The pleasure of choice is all yours, but keep in mind these vaccine options will be around for a while and you may prefer a different option down the line. For example, although the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine was less effective than Pfizer and Moderna, it might have been good for someone who didnt have the time to go back for multiple doses later.

To see how vaccine education can be further improved to reduce hesitancy, Peters and Shoots-Reinhard also looked at how to best present vaccine safety and side effectsin a 2022 paper. They noticed that current vaccine messaginginforms people of the potential side effects but often leaves out how likely they are to occur.

When presenting online survey participants with the numerical likelihoods of experiencing side effects from hypothetical vaccines,70 percent of those who got the numbers reported being likely to vaccinate compared to only 54 percent who didn't get that information.

Although the COVID-19 landscape has greatly changed since 2020 and 2021, and therefore this research cannot be exactly replicated today, the pandemic presented a rare opportunity to study a highly evolving, global health emergency that affected and continues to affect so many people.Vaccines are an important public health tool that go beyond the coronavirus, and the findings are a silver lining in how vaccine efforts in the U.S. can be improved for future epidemics, the researchers said.

Its about giving people more and better information and allowing them more control over their lives, Peters said. We want people to get the information they're missing and be able to make their own informed decisions.

By Leila Okahata, University Communications

This project was supported by the National Science Foundation.

Add hyperlink to paper on pub date 4/11/24[LO1]

Excerpt from:

Options can lower vaccine hesitancy for COVID-19, other diseases | Around the O - AroundtheO

Despite the improved supply of COVID-19 vaccine starting by late 2021, coverage in the African Region increased slowly. Regional coverage with a primary series reached 32% in 2023, with 38% of the population receiving 1 dose. Among the subset of countries that reported coverage for high-risk groups, 48% of health care workers and 52% of older adults received a primary series. Variation in coverage among countries was substantial. Four (9%) of the 47 countries in the region achieved the WHO target of 70% primary series coverage in the total population in 2022 (Liberia, Mauritius, Rwanda, and Seychelles); 29 (62%) countries reported primary series total population coverage <40%. Eritrea has not introduced COVID-19 vaccines, and Burundi delayed introduction in the general population and focused on vaccination of health care workers.

Several reasons likely account for low coverage with COVID-19 vaccines, including limited political commitment, logistical challenges, low perceived risk of COVID-19 illness, and variation in vaccine confidence and demand (3). Country immunization program capacity varies widely across the African Region. Challenges include weak public health infrastructure, limited number of trained personnel, and lack of sustainable funding to implement vaccination programs, exacerbated by competing priorities, including other disease outbreaks and endemic diseases as well as economic and political instability. The total population for each country was used as the denominator for vaccination coverage calculations. However, the eligible population for COVID-19 vaccination differed among countries; most countries targeted persons aged 16 or 18 years, but some countries vaccinated persons aged 5 years. In countries with large populations aged <18 years, meeting coverage targets was not possible (7).

Vaccination of high-priority groups remains critical for optimizing the impact of COVID-19 vaccines (4). Morbidity and mortality are highest among older adults and those with comorbidities (5), yet only two countries in the African Region have achieved >70% coverage among older age groups. The low coverage emphasizes the importance of targeted approaches to generate demand and address population concerns and of new delivery strategies to reach high-priority groups.

In May 2023, the public health emergency of international concern was officially declared over by WHO (8). In October 2023, SAGE recommended using a simplified primary vaccination series of a single dose of any COVID-19 vaccine and updated recommendations on revaccination for high-priority groups (5). SAGE recommended the continued prioritization of high-risk groups as described in the updated SAGE roadmap (5). The recommendations also reinforced the need for sustainable programs and COVID-19 vaccination integration into primary health care and other relevant services. The aim was to optimize resources and build sustainable immunization delivery platforms throughout the life course in alignment with the Immunization Agenda 2030 goals (9).

In November 2023, the Regional Immunization Technical Advisory Group for the African Region endorsed the SAGE recommendations, encouraging countries to continue COVID-19 vaccination as aligned with national priorities (10). Many countries in the African Region are integrating COVID-19 vaccination into their routine health services and exploring new entry points for vaccinating high-priority populations as part of primary care and other relevant services, including through multiantigen periodic intensified routine immunization activities.

The findings in this report are subject to at least three limitations. First, immunization coverage estimates are based primarily on administrative data, which might contain inaccuracies resulting from errors in recording doses administered or in population estimates. Second, although reporting is highly encouraged, in 2023, many countries stopped reporting COVID-19 vaccination data because of competing priorities. In addition, fewer than one half of the countries are reporting doses administered among high-priority groups, including doses for health care workers and older persons. Finally, population estimates for high-priority groups are available only in some countries in the African Region, making assessing coverage challenging.

The African Region has low COVID-19 vaccination coverage. Community engagement is needed to better understand drivers of vaccine confidence and develop more targeted strategies to improve vaccine demand (4). Integration of COVID-19 vaccination into routine immunization and primary health care services would help build sustainability and support recovery of routine immunization services (9). Strengthening adult immunization platforms would contribute to pandemic preparedness and global disease prevention goals (4). To protect vulnerable populations and prevent additional COVID-19 morbidity and mortality in the African Region, progress must continue to be made in vaccination of priority populations at highest risk for disease.

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COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage World Health Organization African Region, 20212023 | MMWR - CDC

The United States (US) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Thursday (Apr 11) that Covid vaccines were not associated with sudden cardiac death among previously healthy young people. Since vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna were authorised in late 2020, anti-vaccination groups in the country blamed the shots for fatal heart problems in young athletes.

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In a statement, the CDC said that vaccination has been associated with myocarditis in adolescents and young adults, and concerns have been raised about possible vaccine-related cardiac fatalities in this age group.

"In April 2021, cases of myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination, particularly among young male vaccine recipients, were reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System," it added.

To assess the above possibility, investigators searched the death certificates of people from Oregon between the ages of 16 and 30 years who died between June 2021December 2022 for cardiac or undetermined causes of death.

For the identified decedents, records in Oregon's immunisation information system were reviewed for documentation of COVID-19 vaccination received at 100 days or less than 100 days before death.

Of the 1,292 identified deaths, Covid was cited as the cause for 30, the CDC said.

Also watch |COVID pandemic anniversary: How a virus led to collapse of global health system | WION Decodes

"For 101 others, a cardiac cause of death could not be excluded; among these decedents, immunization information system records were available for 88, three of whom had received an mRNA (Messenger RNA) COVID-19 vaccination within 100 days of the death," it said.

The CDC pointed out that of the 40 deaths that occurred among people who were vaccinated against the virus, three occurred at 100 days or less than 100 days after inoculation.

"Two of these deaths were attributed to chronic underlying conditions; the cause was undetermined for one. No death certificate attributed death to vaccination," the health body further said.

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Covid vaccines not associated with sudden cardiac death in young people: US CDC - WION

The hunt for a signal of excess sudden cardiac deaths among young people after COVID-19 vaccination left Oregon health officials empty-handed, they reported.

Investigators searched death certificates for Oregon residents 16-30 years old who died from cardiac or undetermined causes of death from June 2021 to December 2022 and tried to match these deaths with mandatory statewide records of mRNA COVID vaccination, according to Juventila Liko, MD, and Paul Cieslak, MD, both of the Oregon Health Authority's Public Health Division in Portland, in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Among the 24 male decedents with an mRNA COVID-19 vaccination record, two died within 100 days of having received the vaccine: one recorded as dying of congestive heart failure attributed to hypertension, and the other had an undetermined cause of death.

As for the 16 female decedents logged as having received at least one mRNA COVID-19 vaccine dose, just one died within 100 days of vaccination. The immediate cause was recorded as undetermined, albeit related to chronic respiratory failure with hypoxia attributed to mitral stenosis.

Meanwhile, out of the 1,292 identified deaths of young people in the state, COVID-19 was cited as the cause for 30.

"These data do not support an association between receipt of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and sudden cardiac death among previously healthy young persons. COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all persons aged 6 months to prevent COVID-19 and complications, including death," study authors concluded.

Oregon residents over 16 years of age became eligible for COVID-19 vaccination on April 19, 2021. That month, reports of myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination, particularly among young male vaccine recipients, began to appear in the voluntary Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

This rare complication had not been reported in clinical trials leading to the authorization of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines (Comirnaty and Spikevax, respectively).

Multiple studies subsequently described myocarditis associated with COVID vaccines as mostly mild. Detailed records showed that affected vaccine recipients tended to be men and boys who were typically able to recover after a few days in the hospital.

Nevertheless, skeptics remained concerned about possible vaccine-related cardiac fatalities in teenagers and young adults. These fears were flamed by reports of sudden deaths among professional athletes and cardiovascular events in this age group in 2022.

The present study from Oregon did not show evidence of these risks.

Liko and Cieslak acknowledged that their analysis did not account for any potential vaccine-associated cardiac deaths occurring more than 100 days after COVID vaccination. Additionally, Oregon's population may be too small to detect rare events such as sudden cardiac death among young people.

Nicole Lou is a reporter for MedPage Today, where she covers cardiology news and other developments in medicine. Follow

Disclosures

Liko and Cieslak had no relevant disclosures.

Primary Source

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

Source Reference: Liko J, Cieslak PR "Assessment of risk for sudden cardiac death among adolescents and young adults after receipt of COVID-19 vaccine -- Oregon, June 2021-December 2022" MMWR 2024; DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7314a5.

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CDC: COVID Vax Not Linked to Sudden Deaths in Young Adults - Medpage Today

Updated 5 hours ago

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A spring Covid booster is being offered to those most at risk from the virus.

Some pharmacies have also started selling the jab privately.

From Monday 15 April, the NHS will take bookings from eligible groups:

The NHS is sending texts, emails, NHS App messages or letters to those who are eligible, but you do not have to wait for the invite.

Those at highest risk are being invited first.

You will generally be invited to have your booster around six months after your last dose, but you can have it after three months.

Spring vaccinations will be available until 30 June.

Vaccines from four different companies are in use across the UK: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Sanofi/GSK and Novavax.

Those getting the spring booster will be given an mRNA vaccine made by either Pfizer or Moderna. Both have been updated to help protect against more recent strains of Covid.

People are advised to take whichever they are offered, as all provide protection against severe illness or death.

Similarly, if you qualify but missed an earlier booster dose, you can have another jab this spring to catch up.

If you have a severely weakened immune system, your doctor may advise you to have an extra dose three months after the spring booster.

Image source, Getty Images

A number of high street chemists and private clinics have started selling and administering Covid vaccines directly to the public.

They range in price from around 45 to 99.

You need to be aged 12 or above, and have not had a Covid vaccine in the previous three months. You also need to talk to a health professional to check that it is suitable.

A protein-based booster vaccine made by Novavax, which works differently to the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA jabs, should be available to buy soon.

It also recommends waiting if you have a high temperature or feel otherwise unwell with any illness.

But there's no need to wait if you have recently recovered from Covid and feel well.

The vaccines do not infect people with Covid and cannot cause positive test results.

They are part of the body's normal immune response to vaccination, and tend to resolve within a day or two.

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It has also been listed as a rare possible side effect of the Novavax vaccine, after a very small number of cases were reported during clinical trials.

Patients with serious allergies should talk to their healthcare professional before being vaccinated.

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Who can get a Covid booster this spring and how can you book? - BBC

Oregon Heath Authority study reports no link between Covid-19 vaccine and cardiac deaths

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU)

A study from the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) found that there is no link between the Covid-19 vaccine and cardiac deaths.

OHA says this study comes after several reports of athletes suffering from cardiac arrest.

Officials investigated nearly 1,300 deaths among Oregonians ranging between the ages of 16 and 30 that occurred over 19 months during 2021 and 2022.

The reports states that of the 40 deaths that occurred among persons who had received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine dose, only three occurred within 100 days after vaccination. However, two of the deaths were attributed to chronic underlying conditions, and the cause was undetermined for one.

The study showed none of the deaths that happened within 100 days of getting a mRNA vaccine were attributed to vaccination.

An OHA doctor recommends the COVID-19 vaccination for people over six months old.

Nevertheless, Cieslak said, it is clear that the risk, if any, of cardiac death linked to COVID-19 vaccination is very low, while the risk of dying from COVID-19 is real. We continue to recommend COVID-19 vaccination for all persons 6 months of age and older to prevent COVID-19 and complications, including death, says Paul Cieslak, M.D.

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Oregon Heath Authority study reports no link between Covid-19 vaccine and cardiac deaths - KATU

Study says vaccines reduced the death toll from COVID-19 by 57% between December 2020 and March 2023

Since their introduction in December 2020, COVID-19 vaccines have saved the lives of more than 1.4 million people in the WHO European Region. Most of those saved were aged 60 or older, the group at highest risk of severe illness and death from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The first vaccine booster alone saved 700,000 lives.

These are among the findings of a new WHO/Europe study revealing that the known COVID-19 death toll in the Region, currently at 2.5 million, might have been as high as 4 million without the vaccines.

We have constantly stressed the importance of the COVID-19 vaccines, particularly for older people and the most vulnerable. This study documents the result of countries implementing that advice. The evidence is irrefutable, said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Region, covering 53 Member States across Europe and central Asia, has seen more than 277 million confirmed cases and over 2.5 million recorded deaths.

Today, there are more than 1.4 million people in our Region most of them elderly enjoying life with their loved ones because they took the vital decision to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Thats nearly 1.5 million people who can play with their grandchildren, walk the dog, attend dance classes, volunteer and be active members of their communities, Dr Kluge said. This is the power of vaccines.

The report reveals a 57% reduction in mortality among those aged 7079 and a 54% decrease in deaths among those aged 6069. Mortality was 52% lower in the 5059 age group. The over-80 age group benefited the most from vaccination, with a 62% reduction in mortality.

Among those aged 25 to 49, receiving a second vaccine dose resulted in a 48% reduction in mortality, though the uptake of vaccines for the second and third boosters was just 5% in this group. In other words, even in this group, without vaccination the number of deaths would have been almost double.

The WHO/Europe study reveals that COVID-19 vaccination saved most lives during the period when the Omicron variant was dominant, from December 2021 to April 2023.

In terms of impact on mortality in the Region as a whole, Israel saw the biggest benefits for all age groups with a 75% reduction, followed by Malta and Iceland with a 72% and 71% reduction, respectively.

Broken down by age group, those aged 80 and older once again saw the most significant benefits from COVID-19 vaccination, with a reduction in mortality of 70% in Malta and 71% in the United Kingdom.

Countries that implemented early vaccination programmes covering large parts of the population such as Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Malta, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom saw the greatest benefit in terms of the number of lives saved overall through vaccination.

Separately, there is mounting evidence that COVID-19 vaccination dramatically lowers the risk of long COVID. A Swedish study showed that vaccinated people were four times less likely to develop long-COVID than those who were not vaccinated.

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COVID-19 vaccinations saved more than 1.4 million lives in Europe - VaccinesToday - Vaccines Today

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There is no evidence to suggest COVID vaccines could cause sudden cardiac death and other heart problems in young people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday, following a string of unfounded conspiracy theories in recent years linking the vaccines to cardiac arrest in young athletes.

The findings follow conspiracy theories in recent years suggesting mRNA Covid vaccines could cause ... [+] cardiac arrest in young athletes.

The findings follow an analysis of nearly 1,300 death certificates of Oregon residents ages 16 to 30 who died from any heart condition or unknown reasons between June 2021 and December 2022, the CDC said.

Of the 101 death certificates that didnt rule out a cardiac event as the cause of death, 40 indicated the person received an mRNA vaccine from Pfizer or Modernaonly three of which died within 100 days of vaccinationthough none of the death certificates listed vaccination as either the immediate or contributing cause of death.

Two of those deaths were attributed to chronic underlying health conditions and the third was attributed to an undetermined natural cause, as toxicology tests were negative for alcohol, cannabis and methamphetamine, among other substances, according to the CDC.

The CDC noted its report cant exclude the possibility of cardiac deaths associated with COVID vaccines more than 100 days after vaccination, though published data indicates adverse events associated with vaccines typically occur within 42 days.

The study was in response to claims myocarditisinflammation of the heart muscleoccurred in young people and athletes after they received a COVID vaccine, the CDC said.

Myocarditis after receiving a COVID vaccine is rare, the CDC said. Rates of myocarditis after vaccines are highest among males in their late teens and early 20s, according to the agency, which noted evidence indicates the benefits of receiving a COVID vaccine outweigh the risk of myocarditis. A study published last May indicated COVID vaccines are associated with a reduced risk of major adverse cardiac events, like heart failure. Another study published in December found no evidence linking COVID vaccines to heart health problems in young athletes, while other researchers found a lack of evidence indicating an increase in sudden cardiac deaths among young people after COVID vaccines were introduced.

A study published in February found COVID vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca were linked to rare occurrences of heart, brain and blood disorders. Despite the link, experts told Forbes the risk of developing COVID-19 outweighed the risks of getting vaccinated.

Covid Vaccines Linked To Small Increase In Heart And Brain Disorders, Study FindsBut Risk From Infection Is Far Higher (Forbes)

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CDC Finds No Link Between COVID Vaccines And Cardiac Death In Young People - Forbes

There is no evidence that mRNA Covid vaccines cause fatal cardiac arrest or other deadly heart problems in teens and young adults, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report published Thursday shows.

Ever since the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna were authorized in late 2020, anti-vaccination groups in the U.S. have blamed the shots for fatal heart problems in young athletes.

One of the most notorious examples of vaccine misinformation involves Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, 26, who in 2023 collapsed on Monday Night Football as a result of cardiac arrest. Hamlin was resuscitated on the field and eventually recovered. He returned to play for the Bills last season.

When Damar Hamlin went down, immediately comments were getting made that it was possibly vaccine-related, said study co-author Dr. Paul Cieslak, the medical director of communicable diseases and immunizations at Oregon Health Authoritys public health division. This is kind of what we were trying to address with this analysis.

The findings in the new report come from the analysis of nearly 1,300 death certificates of Oregon residents ages 16 to 30 who died from any heart condition or unknown reasons between June 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2022.

During this time period, nearly 1 million teens and young adults in the state had gotten a Covid vaccine, the authors wrote.

The authors refined their focus to people who got an mRNA Covid vaccine from Pfizer or Moderna and died within 100 days of being vaccinated.

Out of 40 deaths that occurred among people who got an mRNA Covid vaccine, three occurred within that time frame.

Two of the deaths were attributed to chronic underlying health conditions.

The third death was recorded as an undetermined natural cause, with toxicology tests returning negative for alcohol, cannabis, methamphetamine or other illicit substances.

The medical examiner could neither confirm nor exclude Covid vaccination as the cause of death; however, none of the death certificates attributed the fatalities to the vaccines.

While it remains unclear whether the vaccine caused the third death, Cieslak noted that the analysis showed that 30 people died from Covid during the time frame, the majority of whom were not vaccinated.

When youre balancing risks and benefits, you have to look at that and go, You got to bet on the vaccine, he said.

Dr. Leslie Cooper, chair of the cardiology department at the Mayo Clinic, who was not involved in the study, said the researchers were actually quite generous in their analysis, adding that the 100-day time frame following vaccination was a large one.

They went above and beyond to try and capture any possible cardiac death from vaccinations, he said.

Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops beating and pumping blood to the rest of the body. Its not the same as a heart attack, which happens when blood flow to the hearts muscle becomes limited or blocked, or myocarditis, which is an inflammation of the heart muscle.

For people under 35, the causes of cardiac arrest are often unclear. It could be the result of genetic defects or heart malfunctions, such as problems with the valves of the heart.

Even with the lengthy time frame, Cooper added, the analysis shows that the risk of sudden death in young adults after being vaccinated is significantly lower than the risk of sudden cardiac death from all causes about 1 in 500,000 per year, compared to 1 in 100,000 per year, according to his estimates.

The data shows no signal for any elevation in cardiac deaths associated with the Covid mRNA vaccines, he said. Their conclusions are quite reasonable.

No vaccine has ever been conclusively linked to sudden cardiac death, said Dr. Ofer Levy, the director of the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Childrens Hospital.

Although the mRNA vaccines have been linked to a small risk of myocarditis, the heart condition tends to be much milder than what is typically seen with traditional myocarditis from Covid infection, he added, and most people fully recover within a few days.

This adds to evidence that people dont drop dead from getting their mRNA Covid vaccines, Levy said of the study.

Berkeley Lovelace Jr. is a health and medical reporter for NBC News. He covers the Food and Drug Administration, with a special focus on Covid vaccines, prescription drug pricing and health care. He previously covered the biotech and pharmaceutical industry with CNBC.

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CDC finds Covid vaccines not linked to sudden death in young people - NBC News