Singapore: The overall risk of myopericarditis — a condition that causes inflammation of the heart muscles — following COVID-19 vaccination is very low, affecting 18 people per million vaccine doses, according to a study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal. The research confirms that the risk of myopericarditis is comparable to or lower following COVID-19 vaccination than other non-COVID-19 vaccines. The team analysed international databases, looking at over 400 million vaccination doses, to compare the risk of myopericarditis following vaccination against COVID-19 and other diseases such as influenza and smallpox.
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They found no statistically significant difference between the incidence of myopericarditis following COVID-19 vaccination — 18 cases per million doses — and other vaccinations, which was 56 cases per million doses.
“Our research suggests that the overall risk of myopericarditis appears to be no different for this newly approved group of vaccines against COVID- 19, compared to vaccines against other diseases,” said Kollengode Ramanathan, from National University Hospital, Singapore, and corresponding author of the study.
The risk of such rare events should be balanced against the risk of myopericarditis from infection and these findings should bolster public confidence in the safety of COVID-19 vaccinations, Mr Ramanathan said.
Myopericarditis, in some cases, may cause severe permanent heart damage. It is most often caused by viruses but can also occur after vaccination in rare instances.
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There have been reports of myopericarditis following mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccination, especially in adolescents and young adults.
The researchers analysed more than 20 studies with reported incidences of myopericarditis following any type of vaccination between January 1947 and December 2021.
Among COVID-19 vaccinations, the risk of myopericarditis was higher for those who received mRNA vaccines (22.6 cases per million doses) compared to non-mRNA vaccines (7.9 cases per million doses), the researchers said.
Reported cases were also higher in people below the age of 30 (40.9 cases per million doses), males (23 cases per million doses), and following the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine (31.1 cases per million doses), they said.
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“The occurrence of myopericarditis following non-COVID-19 vaccination could suggest that myopericarditis is a side effect of the inflammatory processes induced by any vaccination and is not unique to the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins in COVID-19 vaccines or infection,” said Jyoti Somani, from National University Hospital, Singapore, and co-author of the study.
This also highlights that the risks of such infrequent adverse events should be offset by the benefits of vaccination, which include a lower risk of infection, hospitalisation, severe disease, and death from COVID-19, Ms Somani said.
The researchers acknowledge some limitations with their study.
They noted that their findings include only a small proportion of children under the age of 12 who have only recently been eligible for vaccination, and that results of this study cannot be generalised to this age group.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, that is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
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