Do 2 Studies Suggest Hepatitis Linked To Covid-19 Vaccines? Heres What They Really Say – Forbes

Some social media accounts have been blaming Covid-19 vaccines for the outbreak of acute hepatitis ... [+] across 12 countries. (Photo: Getty)

A mysterious hepatitis outbreak has already affected at least 169 children across 12 countries, as I covered for Forbes on April 26. Its mysterious because its cause has yet to be clearly established. But take a wild guess as to what some on social media have been trying to blame for the outbreak. Heres a hint: its something that does not turn you into a gigantic magnet and does not make keys stick to your forehead. Yes, anonymous social media accounts have been trying to link the hepatitis outbreak that has left at least one child dead and 17 requiring liver transplants to, drum roll please, Covid-19 vaccines. And some of these accounts along with a website called The Expos have been citing two studies, claiming that they serve as evidence.

For example, heres a tweet from an account that calls itself the Donald J. Trump Tracker:

From Twitter

Now its not clear who the Deputy of Minister is and whether its similar to the Vice of President of an organization or the Assistant of Secretary of a government body. But when you claim that someone said something at least provide the persons real name or a link to the source. You may be tracking Trump but others need to track from where you are getting your information.

Plus, theres one itty bitty problem with blaming Covid-19 vaccines for the hepatitis outbreak. A World Health Organization (WHO) report from April 23 clearly stated that Hypotheses related to side effects from the Covid-19 vaccines are currently not supported as the vast majority of affected children did not receive Covid-19 vaccination. So how exactly can a child get hepatitis from a Covid-19 vaccine when that child hasnt even gotten a Covid-19 vaccine? That would be like blaming Madonna for making you late to work when you havent even met Madonna.

So then what about the two so-called studies that some have been throwing around? For example, take a look at the following tweet that used a fire emoji and offered a post on the The Expos:

From Twitter

Well, the so-called Pizer study references in this tweet is actually something published in Current Issues in Molecular Biology on February 25, 2022, well before the WHO had announced the hepatitis outbreak. All this study showed is that when human liver cells in a test tube is exposed to the components of the Pfizer Covid-19 mRNA vaccine, the liver cells do take up the vaccine components fairly rapidly. Of course, unless you happen to be a giant test tube, this doesnt necessarily mean that when you get the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, all of the vaccine components will immediately go to your liver. And just because the vaccine components can enter liver cells doesnt suggest Covid-19 vaccines have been to blame for the hepatitis outbreak. For example, you can show that having 50 marmots in you bed can keep you up all night, especially if you have to play parcheesi with them. However, this doesnt necessarily mean that marmots are to blame for the lack of sleep that Americans have been getting in general.

Then there was this other new study offered by a tweet from yet another anonymous social media account and another post on The Expos:

From Twitter

This so-called study is actually not a formal study but instead a case report published in the Journal of Hepatology on April 21, 2022. The case report described what happened to a 52-year-old male in Germany who developed acute hepatitis two to three weeks after he had gotten the Pfizer Covid-19 mRNA vaccine. Samples of his liver did show evidence of inflammation as well as presence of T cells. T cells, otherwise known as T lymphocyte, are white blood cells that serve various immune protection functions for your body. The presence of T cells did strongly suggest that the mans liver inflammation may have been due to his immune systems response to vaccination against Covid-19. Doctors felt that these findings were compatible with a probable autoimmune hepatitis and treated him with oral budesonide and eventually steroids combined with ursodeoxycholic acid. Eventually, within eight weeks, the mans liver enzyme levels returned to normal.

So, yes, this case was evidence that acute hepatitis could potentially be a side effect of the Pfizer Covid-19 mRNA vaccine. Again, though, a key distinction is that this was a case report and not a study. It showed what happened to a single man (in this case, single as in number and not marital status) after getting vaccinated. A case report cant tell you how common or how likely an event may be. For example, last month I covered for Forbes a case report of a woman who ended up having a glass tumbler lodged in her bladder for four years. Such a rare event doesnt necessarily mean that you should never ever use a glass tumbler again or that you should run screaming anytime anyone tries to pour you a drink. Similarly, a case report or even several reports of acute hepatitis after Covid-19 vaccination shouldnt be reason alone to avoid Covid-19 vaccines. So far, theres no evidence that acute hepatitis is anything more than a potential very rare side effect.

Moreover, all cases of acute hepatitis are not the same. Acute hepatitis is a very broad term for sudden onset inflammation of the liver. The man in the case report survived his bout with acute hepatitis apparently without any permanent damage. This was nowhere near the damage seen among some of the kids being afflicted by the ongoing hepatitis outbreak.

At this point the leading culprit behind the hepatitis outbreak is the type 41 adenovirus, possibly in combination with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), as I described for Forbes previously. Now there are many different types of adenoviruses. While some types are more likely to cause common cold symptoms or respiratory issues, adenovirus type 41 typically spreads via the fecal-oral route (which is a nice way of saying poop-to-mouth). It commonly affects your gut, resulting in gastroenteritis.

The Covid-19 vaccines use different types of adenoviruses with the Astra-Zeneca one using a chimpanzee adenovirus and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine using a Type 26 adenovirus. In both cases, the adenovirus is inactivated so that it cant cause disease. Nevertheless, some anonymous social media accounts have seized upon the whole adenovirus thing, claiming that it is evidence that the adenovirus-based AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines are linked to the hepatitis outbreak:

From Twitter

Again, such claims overlook the itty bitty problem that most of the children being affected by the hepatitis outbreak did not get the Covid-19 vaccines, whether the vaccines are adenovirus-based or not. This fact would make it difficult for any claims about the Covid-19 vaccines being involved to stick like keys on a forehead.

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Do 2 Studies Suggest Hepatitis Linked To Covid-19 Vaccines? Heres What They Really Say - Forbes