SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- A new study on members of the U.S. military who received the COVID-19 vaccines adds more evidence to a link between the shots and rare cases of heart inflammation, but the researchers said their findings should not diminish overall confidence in the shots.
From January through the end of April, the military administered 2.8 million doses of the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.
The study, published in JAMA Cardiology, describes how 23 service members later developed chest pain and sought medical attention. Testing showed it was myocarditis.
Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart, specifically within the middle layer of heart muscle.
Last week, an advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there was a "likely association" between about 1,200 reports of heart inflammation and the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna.
RELATED: Benefits of COVID vaccination still greatly outweigh the risks of myocarditis, CDC experts conclude
The panel concluded the vaccines benefits still greatly outweigh the potential risks, but the Food and Drug Administration added a new warning to the literature that accompanies the shots highlighting that rare and typically mild cases of heart inflammation had been detected.
Most of the cases have been in boys and young men.
In the military study, all 23 cases were men, all happened within four days after vaccination and most happened after the second dose. Most of the men were service members in their 20s.
To examine whether the vaccines were the likely cause, researchers compared the number of cases to the background rate. The background rate is the number of cases of myocarditis that would be expected from other causes.
Myocarditis can be triggered by a number of things, including infection. There are like 15 or 20 common offenders, said Dr. Christian Ramers of Family Health Centers of San Diego. Things like chickenpox can do it. Things like enteroviruses that cause infections in kids can do it.
In the days following the second shot, the researchers said they would expect to find between 0 and 8 cases of myocarditis from other causes. Instead, they found 19, suggesting a possible link to the vaccines.
The majority of people will not only get better, but you'll get better very quickly, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at UC San Francisco.
Myocarditis can involve sharp chest pain or shortness of breath at first, but it usually resolves fast, Dr. Chin-Hong said. Some patients heal without treatment. Others may require simple anti-inflammatory medicine. In rare cases, the inflammation can cause permanent damage to the heart.
In the military study, 16 of the 23 patients recovered within one week. Seven patients continued to have chest discomfort at the time the report was published.
Doctors arent sure why the condition is more common in boys and young men, but the cases in healthy, fit military members are renewing questions about the role of exercise.
Vigorous exercise can worsen myocarditis. If you increase the blood flow needed during exercise, the heart really can't keep up, said Dr. Chin-Hong.
In rare cases, that can lead to heart failure.
People who develop myocarditis are told to avoid vigorous exercise and sports for three to six months so the heart has time to heal, but some doctors are beginning to wonder if exercise just after vaccination could have an impact.
I think that raises a very important question, said Dr. Abisola Olulade of Sharp-Rees Stealy Family Medicine. Do we recommend that people in this age range not exercise after they get the vaccine? I think its an important question because there is data that if someone is experiencing myocarditis they should not exercise because it can make it worse.
So far, there is no such guidance that people avoid exercise in the days after the shot, Dr. Olulade noted.
Scientists have yet to identify a mechanism for how the vaccines might trigger the inflammation.
People infected with COVID-19 have developed heart complications. Nearly one percent of college and pro athletes infected with COVID showed signs of myocarditis in scans, the military researchers noted.
That means infection poses a much higher risk of heart problems than vaccination, Dr. Chin-Hong said.
The latest estimates suggest about 12 cases of myocarditis after every million doses of vaccine, which is a similar risk to drowning while swimming, he noted.
The authors of the military study said their findings should not discourage people from seeking the life-saving protection the vaccines offer.
Concerns about rare adverse events following immunization should not diminish overall confidence in the value of vaccination, the authors wrote.
What links these countries is that they have each fully inoculated more than 50% of their populations, largely with Chinese-made coronavirus vaccines. And that's raised questions over the vaccines' efficacy.
If the Chinese vaccines aren't working, that's a huge problem -- and not just from a health perspective. Beijing has staked its reputation on providing other countries with vaccines.
Experts say that while these Chinese vaccines might not be as effective as some, they aren't a failure. No vaccine gives 100% protection against Covid-19, so breakthrough cases are to be expected.
The crucial metric for measuring success, they say, is preventing deaths and hospitalizations, not aiming for zero Covid-19.
Why are vaccinated people getting sick?
China has two vaccines authorized for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO), Sinopharm and Sinovac. Both use inactivated viruses to prompt an immune response in the patient, a tried and tested vaccine method.
"If we want to bring down the severe cases (and) the number of deaths, the Sinopharm, Sinovac can help."Professor Jin Dong-yan,Virologist, Hong Kong University
Experts say the outbreaks in places that used Chinese vaccines are broadly in line with what we would expect from these efficacy rates.
"If we want to bring down the severe cases (and) the number of deaths, the Sinopharm, Sinovac can help," said Jin Dong-yan, a professor in molecular virology at Hong Kong University.
Ben Cowling, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the same university, said the Chinese vaccines appeared to be limiting the number of serious infections and deaths.
"I think the vaccines are certainly working and they're certainly saving a lot of lives," he said.
What's going on in Chile, Mongolia and Seychelles?
"We cannot differentiate between Covid-19 vaccines, saying this one is bad or that one is good."Enkhsaihan Lkhagvasuren,Mongolian Ministry of Health
And she maintained that Sinopharm had been very effective.
"We cannot differentiate between Covid-19 vaccines, saying this one is bad or that one is good. All of the available vaccines reduce the risk of severe illness," she said.
Odgerel Chuluunbat, a fully vaccinated business owner in Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar who tested positive for Covid-19 two weeks ago and recovered at home, said she believed her infection could have been much worse without the Sinopharm vaccine.
"I don't regret getting the jab," she said. "Without it, the situation in the country would be very bad."
Why are vaccinated people dying?
Some people who are getting vaccinated with Sinovac or Sinopharm are still dying of Covid -- although these breakthrough cases are possible with any vaccine.
An estimated 1,600 doctors in Indonesia have been infected with Covid-19 in May and June alone, although it's unclear how many of those had been vaccinated.
Adib said most medical workers died because they were in a unique circumstance: they were overwhelmed with patients, meaning they had to work long hours with little rest.
"Based on our investigation data, the death of medical workers has nothing to do with the Sinovac vaccine," Adib said. "The most important thing is taking the Covid vaccine and people should keep following health protocols."
Dr. Hermawan Saputra, an epidemiologist and member of the Indonesian Public Health Experts Association, said more virulent strains of Covid-19 may have reduced the efficacy of the vaccines.
Virologist Jin cautioned there could be underlying issues in these serious cases. Some vaccinated people hospitalized with Covid-19 might be immunocompromized, meaning their body is not able to produce a strong immune response, he said.
Have the Chinese vaccines failed?
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines appear to be more effective than Sinovac and Sinopharm at limiting transmission, but whether the two WHO-approved Chinese vaccines have failed depends on the metrics for success.
Jin said the Chinese vaccines' efficacy might not be high enough to stop the virus circulating in a community, thereby putting herd immunity out of reach. That runs the risk of vaccine-resistant variants emerging.
"It's possible that the end of the pandemic might be delayed, or we might have to work with these flu-like diseases for a longer period of time," Jin said. "(The Sinovac, Sinopharm vaccines) are good, but they're just not good enough. We want the vaccine to help put an end to the pandemic, and if that is the case, Pfizer and Moderna are doing a much better job."
He said the manufacturers of the Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines have a responsibility to improve, which could just be a matter of increasing the dose or adding a third dose.
Pfizer and Moderna may roll out in more countries next year after manufacturing capacity is increased. But right now, there's just not enough to go around.
Even so, getting a Chinese vaccine is still better than nothing, said Scott Rosenstein, director of the global health program at Eurasia Group.
"In places where that's the only option, it still remains the best decision to take it," he said.
And he worries that criticism of the Chinese vaccines may encourage people to wait until more effective vaccines become available.
"That itself creates challenges for the rollout, it means that you vaccinate people slower," he said.
As it exports vaccines around the world, Beijing has promoted the Sinopharm and Sinovac shots as "Chinese vaccines," aligning the products with China's government in a way not seen in the US or the UK.
Neither vaccine company has made extensive trial data public, which may allow efficacy questions to continue.
"The most I can say about that data is that those vaccines seem to work OK," Rosenstein said. "You're sort of partially flying blind here because the gold standard is a randomized trial, and we don't have that much to work with for those."
The lack of data has fed skepticism. Now reports of cases even among vaccinated people is prompting a backlash. In Mongolia, where there's already a long-running anti-China sentiment, partly thanks to a belief that neighboring China wants to undermine its sovereignty, many are frustrated about the rate of infections.
Gandi Boldbaatar, a 22-year-old student, said she was fully vaccinated with Sinopharm a month ago, but tested positive for Covid-19 last week and is now in intensive care in a government hospital. She said she didn't think Mongolia's vaccination campaign was very effective.
"I still got very sick," she said. "If given the option to get inoculated again with Sinopharm or any other vaccine, I will refuse it."
"It's too early to say that the verdict is in," Rosenstein said. "The downside (of vaccine diplomacy) may have outweighed the upside ... I think that the vaccine diplomacy objectives of China at this point are not being realized."
But the bigger picture, Rosenstein said, isn't about politics -- it's about health.
"It's bad for public health when you have so much political jockeying instead of good faith discussions around what's the best way to get this outbreak under control."
"Just as our work to vaccinate Americans does not stop on July Fourth, our work to help vaccinate the world does not stop at these 80 million doses," Zients told reporters at a White House Covid-19 briefing. "We will continue to share tens of millions more US doses over the summer months as we help lead the fight to end the pandemic across the globe."
The move is part of President Joe Biden's effort to reassert US leadership on the world stage and help countries around the world struggling with Covid-19 outbreaks combat the pandemic. It will also serve to counter efforts by Russia and China to use their own state-funded vaccines to expand their global influence.
The US has allocated 80 million Covid-19 vaccines to countries around the globe, as the President had pledged to do by the end of June. The White House said at least 75% of these donated vaccines would be shared with the global vaccination program called Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access, or COVAX, and 25% would beshared directly with countries in need.
Not all of the doses have shipped. By the end of this week, the US will have sent about 40 million doses to the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Taiwan, Colombia, Pakistan, Peru, Ecuador, Malaysia, Bangladesh and other countries, Zients said. The remainder of the 80 million doses will be shipped in coming weeks, he said. The vaccines being sent are the three that have been authorized for use in the US: by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
In addition to those 80 million doses, the President pledged last month to donate 500 million Pfizerdoses globally.
"This is by far the largest ever donation of Covid-19 vaccines by a single country," Zients said Thursday.
Earlier this year, the President said $2 billion in US contributions would go toward a global coronavirus vaccine initiative and would provide support to COVAX. He also pledged an additional $2 billion in funding contingent on contributions from other nations and dose delivery targets being met.
The announcement Thursday comes as federal officials voice concerns about variants spreading in the US and the administration races to get the rest of the US population vaccinated.
The White House recently acknowledged the US would fall short of Biden's goals of having 70% of adult Americans with at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot and 160 million fully vaccinated by July Fourth. Zients said the country has more work to do to get younger Americans vaccinated, and that he expected the US to hit those goals weeks after the initial target date.
More than 154 million Americans had been fully vaccinated as of Thursday morning, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than 57% of Americans 18 and older are fully vaccinated.
LONDON (AP) Will one dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine protect me?
Yes, but not nearly as much as if you had both doses. Experts recommend getting fully vaccinated, especially with the emergence of worrisome coronavirus mutations such as the delta variant first identified in India.
The COVID-19 vaccines rolling out globally were developed to target the original version of the virus detected in late 2019. While they seem to work against newer versions, theres a concern the shots eventually might lose their effectiveness if variants evolve enough.
With the delta variant, a study by British researchers found people were well protected when they got both doses of either the AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. But with only one dose, protection was significantly reduced.
To stem the spread of the delta variant in the United Kingdom, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently delayed the lifting of remaining restrictions to get more people the full two doses.
Health officials are also concerned about the dozens of countries that still dont have enough supply secured to distribute second doses within the recommended time frame.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said vaccinations with only one dose wont be enough to stop outbreaks fueled by new variants and that people should maintain social distancing and other measures until more of the population is fully vaccinated.
The second dose of a two-dose vaccine is critical because its what really gives a boost to the immune system so that the antibody response is very strong, says Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, WHOs chief scientist.
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The AP is answering your questions about the coronavirus in this series. Submit them at: FactCheck@AP.org. Read more here:
What should I know about the delta variant?
Can you mix and match COVID-19 vaccines?
Why do some people get side effects after COVID-19 vaccines?
What is a COVID-19 vaccine passport?
A COVID-19 vaccine passport is a document that serves as proof that an individual has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccine passports can be used to regulate international travel or to limit the access of unvaccinated people in certain spaces domestically. Some states (e.g., New York and Hawaii) have implemented vaccine passport programs that allow users to create vaccine credentials, which can be accessed and exhibited digitally through smartphones and internet browsers.
Please see full Publication below for more information.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL Reports of deaths and serious illnesses occurring after Covid-19 shots have been mounting during the last few months. Those who look at the numbers and historical vaccine injury rates claim that the world has never seen anything like it.
As Fox News Tucker Carlson reports, through June 11, 2021, the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), a division of the US Health and Human Services Department, recorded 358,379 adverse events after vaccinations, including 5,993 deaths and 29,871 serious illnesses.
Anti-vaccine protesters are therefore recommending that before anyone decides to be vaccinated, it may be wise to assess personal insurance and financial ability to handle a serious illness, as pandemic vaccine manufacturers are indemnified against lawsuits.
If someone is harmed by a Covid-19 shot and lives in the U.S., the only recourse is to apply for compensation from the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Act (CICP). Payouts are rare, they cover only lost wages and unpaid medical bills, and cannot be appealed.
United States As of June 11, 2021, the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) had posted 358,379 adverse events, including 5,993 deaths and 29,871 serious injuries. In the 12- to 17-year-old age group, there were 271 serious illnesses and seven deaths. Among pregnant women, there were 2,136 adverse events, including 707 miscarriages or premature births.
The reported death rate from Covid-19 shots now exceeds the reported death rate of more than 70 vaccines combined over the past 30 years, and is about 500 times deadlier than the seasonal flu vaccine, which historically has been the most hazardous.
The Covid-19 shots are also claimed to be five times more dangerous than the pandemic H1N1 vaccine, which had a 25-per-million severe side effect rate. Assuming the Covid-19 shots had the same side effect rate, and assuming some 200 million got the vaccine, the estimated number of people suffering a serious side effect would be about 5,000. Representatives of the anti-vaccine camp say that we have passed that already, as 35,864 people have been seriously injured or killed.
Even though there are nearly 6,000 reported deaths in the VAERS system, this number is likely seriously compromised, vaccine skeptics say.
Getting the Covid-19 shot immediately places the injected individual at risk of dying from Covid-19, say the skeptics. Most people who have been vaccinated are supposedly far more vulnerable and, as a result, will not take aggressive proactive measures to avoid dying from pathogenic priming or paradoxical immune enhancement before it is too late.
European Union In the European Unions database of adverse drug reactions from Covid-19 shots, called EudraVigilance, there were 1,509,266 reported adverse reactions, including 15,472 deaths as of June 19. EudraVigilance only accepts reports from EU members, so it covers only 27 of the 50 European countries.
Remarkably, about half of all reported illnesses 753,657 are listed as serious, meaning the injury is life-threatening, requires hospitalization, results in a medically important condition, significant disability, or persistent incapacity.
The U.K. The British Yellow Card system had received, as of June 9, 2021, 276,867 adverse event reports following Covid-19 vaccination, including 1,332 deaths.
Israel According to a report by the Israeli People Committee, a civilian body of health experts, there has never been a vaccine that has harmed as many people. For example, Israeli data show boys and men between the ages of 16 and 24 who have been vaccinated have 25 times the rate of myocarditis (heart inflammation) than normal.
Australia In Australia, two people have died from blood clots after taking AstraZenecas Covid-10 shot. Meanwhile, only one person an elderly woman has died from Covid-19 this year.
CARLSON TUCKERS CLAIMS ARE DISPUTED BY SCIENTISTS
Fox News host Tucker Carlson suggested that thousands of Americans have died since December because of the Covid-19 vaccines, citing an unverified federal database that has become a breeding ground for anti-vaccine misinformation.
The comments were the latest in a series of controversial remarks by Carlson raising doubts about the vaccines, which clinical trials and real-world studies have shown both safe and effective.
Between late December 2020 and last month, a total of 3,362 people apparently died after getting the COVID vaccine in the United States 3,362, Carlson told millions of viewers during his primetime TV show May 5. Thats an average of roughly 30 people every day.
The actual number is almost certainly higher than that, perhaps vastly higher than that, he added. Its clear that what is happening now, for whatever reason, is not even close to normal.
Carlson said he cited numbers from the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS, an open-source database often misused by anti-vaccine activists to make false claims about vaccine safety. Experts rejected Carlsons claim as misleading.
Thats because VAERS data is considered unreliable for drawing causal conclusions. And dying after a vaccine is not the same thing as dying because of the vaccine.
It is exceptionally irresponsible for this man to claim that all these are causal associations. Its wrong, said Dr. Paul Offit, the chair of vaccinology at the University of Pennsylvanias Perelman School of Medicine. He puts peoples lives at risk with bad information during a pandemic.
VAERS REPORTS ARE UNVERIFIED AND DONT SHOW CAUSATION
Unlike other official government sources, which flow through consistent reporting channels and get screened by statisticians and analysts before they are made available to the public, VAERS is an open-access system. The reports submitted are not verified before they become public.
Anybody can report to it, Offit said. If I get a vaccine, or I give my child a vaccine, and I believe that they have turned into the Incredible Hulk, then I can write up a one-page report online and submit it, and that then is included. And thats been done.
A disclaimer on the VAERS website says the reports alone cannot be used to determine if a vaccine caused or contributed to an adverse event or illness, in part because they may include incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental and unverified information. People accessing the database must click an option that says that theyve read and understood the disclaimer.
Offit said VAERS works best as a hypothesis-generating mechanism that can tip scientists off to issues for further studies, such as the rare cases of blood clots that prompted the agency to recommend a temporary pause on the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
In this case, the CDC has analyzed all the reports of death among Covid-19 vaccine recipients submitted to VAERS between Dec. 14, 2020, and May 3.
A review of available clinical information, including death certificates, autopsy, and medical records, has not established a causal link to COVID-19 vaccines, the agency concluded.
To establish causation, scientists need to prove that an adverse event is significantly more common among vaccinated people than unvaccinated people. VAERS doesnt provide enough data to do that.
Massachusetts doctor on getting COVID-19 vaccine holdouts to get the shot
Updated: 5:33 PM EDT Jul 2, 2021
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MARIA: MORE THAN 60% OF MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS ARE NOW FULLY VACCINATED AGAINST CO VID-19. HERE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONIS -- BECAUSE IT IS FRIDAY -- DR. ROBERT FINBERG, PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE AT U-MASS MEDICAL SCHOOL IN WORCTEESR. WE ALWAYS APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND WISDOM. OUR VACCINATION RATES ARE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN MANY OTHER STATES, BUT THEYRE SLLTI SLOWING DOWN. DO YOU THINK EVERYONE WHO WANTS A VACCINE HAS RECEIVED A VACCINE, OR IS ACCESS TO SHOTS STILL A PROBLEM? DR. FINBG:ER IT WAS AT THE BEGINNGIN BUT IN MASSACHUSETTS, ACCESS IS NOT A PROBLEM. YOU CAN GO TOHE T MASS.GOV INTERNET SITE AND FIND OUT WHERE TO G TETHE VACCINE NEAR YOU. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET, DIAL 211. MANY HEALTH DEPARTMENTS AND COMMUNITIES ARE GETTING THE VACCINE OUT TO THE HOMELESS AND THE HOMEBOUND. IKER DR. FINBERG, WEIGHT -- WE WANT TO REMIND OUR VIEWERS THAT YOU SIT ON THE GOVERNORS VACCINE ADVIRYSO BOARD. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE PUICBL HEALTH MESSAGE NEEDS TO BE, AT THIS TO PERSUADE THE HOLD-OUTS POINT, TO GET VACCINATED? DR. FINBERG: I WOULD LIKE TO CREATE A RATE THIS IS A SAFE THING TO DO AND THE RIGHT THING TO DO FOR YOUR LOVED ONES TO PROTECT THEM AGAINST A TERRIBLE DISEASE BUT IF THAT DOES NOT WORK, ERTHE ARE FIVE $1 MILLION PRIZES AND SCHOLARSHIPS OUT THERE. YOU CAN REGISTER ONLINE AT FOR THE VAX MILLIONS. MARIA: WHICH A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY DONE. A LOT OF PEOPLE WHICH IS INTERESTING. LT'S TALK ABOUT THE DELTA VARIANT. IS IT THE DOMINANT STRAIN IN MASSACHUSETTS RIGHT NO DR. FINBERG: NOT Y. IN NEW ENGLAND, WE HAVE BEEN RUNNING BEHIND. IT IS OVER 40%. IT HASNT SPREAD AS FAST HERE BECAUSE TREHE ARE SO MANY VACCINATED PEOPLE. IT IS AROUND 25 %.SINCE IT IS MORE INFECTIOUS, W ANTICIPATE THE U.K. LLWI BECOME. DOES PREDOMINANT STRAIN. ERA:IK SOME FOLKS HAVE RECOVERED FROM COVID AND DONT THINKHE T NEED THE VACCINE. FOR THOSE FOLKS WHO ARE NOT VACCINATED, WHAT IS THE RISK FOR THEM? DR. NBG:FI THERE IS A RISK. YOU GET NATURAL IMMUNITY. THE DATA INDICATES THE VACCINES ARE BETTER THAN TH.AT FOR PEOPLE THAT HAVE COREVERED FROM COVID, WE WOULD STILL SAY IT YOUR BEST BET IS TO GET THE VACCINE. IT WILL GIVE YOU MORE PROTECTION FOR A LONGER PERIOD. MARIA: WE WISH YOU A HAPPY AND HEALTHY FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND. WE WILL GET TO MIKE WANKUM FOR THE RAIN IN A MINUTE
Massachusetts doctor on getting COVID-19 vaccine holdouts to get the shot
Updated: 5:33 PM EDT Jul 2, 2021
Dr. Robert Finberg, professor of medicine at UMass Medical School talks about what could persuade COVID-19 vaccine holdouts to receive the vaccination.
Dr. Robert Finberg, professor of medicine at UMass Medical School talks about what could persuade COVID-19 vaccine holdouts to receive the vaccination.
As a primary care pediatrician, I have been getting lots of questions from parents about myocarditis and pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination. Many parents who had planned to get their children vaccinated are hesitant now, worried about what they are hearing on the news.
Myocarditis is inflammation of the muscle of the heart, and pericarditis is inflammation of the tissue that forms a sac around the heart. There are many possible causes of this inflammation. Infections, especially viruses, are a common cause. It can also be caused by autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, certain medications, heavy metals, and radiation treatments. It has also been caused by vaccines, although this is rare. The symptoms are chest pain, shortness of breath, or an abnormal heartbeat (fast, fluttering, or pounding).
Currently, about 1,000 cases of myocarditis and pericarditis have been reported after vaccination against COVID-19 with one of the mRNA vaccines, Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna. The cases have been most common in male adolescents and young adults, occurring most often after the second dose, and usually within several days of receiving the vaccine. The majority of cases have been mild. Experts are still gathering information, but as of this writing, 79% of teens and young adults who experienced this had recovered.
Its understandable to worry about a side effect involving the heart. But before choosing not to vaccinate, its important to look at the whole picture.
Millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given, and there have only been 1,000 cases of heart inflammation. Doing the math, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that for every million doses given, there have been 67 cases of heart inflammation in boys 12 to 17 (nine in girls of that age group), 56 in those aged 18 to 24 (six in girls), and 20 in males 25 to 29 (three in girls). That means the risk is quite low.
While its true overall that children and young adults have been less affected by COVID-19 than older adults, theres no guarantee that they wont get very sick if they catch it. Experts are particularly worried about the new COVID-19 variants, which seem to spread more quickly and cause more severe disease. The available vaccines do appear to protect against these variants, and the vast majority of current hospitalizations and deaths are in people who are unvaccinated.
COVID-19 can affect the heart, too not only as part of MIS-C, a multisystem inflammatory complication of COVID-19 seen in children, but also just from the infection itself. COVID-19 can cause heart damage, including myocarditis.
Our only way out of this pandemic is to get as many people vaccinated as possible, including young people. Young people who are vaccinated can safely go to school or camp, play sports, and be with their friends and families, all of which are important for their current and future health and well-being and all of which were curtailed during the pandemic.
As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
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Google is making it possible to store digital versions of either COVID-19 test results or vaccination cards on users Android devices. The company on Wednesday announced its updating its Passes API, which will give developers at healthcare organizations, government agencies, and other organizations authorized by public health authorities the ability to create digital versions of tests and vaccination cards that can then be saved directly to the users device. The Passes API is typically used to store things like boarding passes, loyalty cards, gift cards, tickets and more to users Google Pay wallet. However, the Google Pay app in this case will not be required, Google says.
Instead, users without the Google Pay app will have the option to store the digital version of the COVID Card directly to their device, where its accessible from a home screen shortcut. Because Google is not retaining a copy of the card, anyone who needs to store the COVID Card on multiple devices will need to download it individually on each one from the healthcare provider or other organizations app.
The cards themselves show the healthcare provider or organizations logo and branding at the top, followed by the persons name, date of birth and other relevant information, like the vaccine manufacturer or date of shot or test. According to a support document, healthcare providers or organizations could alert users to the ability to download their card via email, text, or through a mobile website or app.
In an example photo, Google showed the COVID-19 Vaccination Card from Healthvana, a company that serves L.A. County, However, it didnt provide any other information about which healthcare providers are interested in or planning to adopt the new technology. Reached for comment, Google says there are some other big partners and states in the pipeline, but it doesnt have permission to share those names at this time. Over the next few weeks, some of these names will be released, we understand.
The Passes API update doesnt mean Android users can immediately create digital versions of their COVID vaccination cards something people have been taking pictures of as a means of backup or, unfortunately in some cases, laminating it. (Thats not advised, however, as the card is meant to be used again for recording booster shots.)
Rather, the update is about giving developers the ability to begin building tools to export the data they have in their own systems about peoples COVID tests and vaccinations to a local digital card on Android devices. To what extent these digital cards will become broadly available to end users will depend on developer adoption.
For the feature to work, the Android device needs to run Android 5 or later and it will need to be Play Protect certified, which is a licensing program that ensures the device is running real Google apps. Users will also need to set a lock screen on their device for additional security.
Google says the update will initially roll out in the U.S., followed by other countries.
The U.S. is behind other markets in making digital versions of vaccination cards possible. Today, the EUs COVID certificate, which shows an individuals vaccination status, test results or recovery status from COVID-19, went live. The certificate (EUDCC) will be recognized by all EU members and will aid with cross-border travel. Israel released a vaccine passport earlier this year that allows vaccinated people to show their green pass at places that require vaccinations. Japan aims to have vaccination passports ready by the end of July for international travel.
In the U.S., only a few states have active vaccine certification apps. Many others have either outright banned vaccine passports which has become a politically loaded term or are considering doing so.
Given this context, Googles digital vaccination card is just that a digital copy of a paper card. Its not tied to any other government initiatives nor is it a vaccine passport.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. Charlie Fink is alive today from the gift of organ transplant.
But he takes medicine to quiet his immune system so his body wont reject someone elses kidney. And those immunosuppressants impacted the level of protection hes received from the COVID-19 vaccine.
And hes not alone.
READ: See where you can find the COVID-19 vaccine in your county
A John Hopkins Study shows that only 17% of organ transplant patients showed antibodies after the first shot.
Dr. Aftab Khan said hes worried people on immunosuppressants will have a false sense of security from the shot, not realizing the drugs theyre on may interfere with their immune systems ability to create antibodies.
In the John Hopkins study, the number of transplant patients with antibodies improved to 54% after the second shot. But that still means nearly half are left unprotected.
READ: Orange County officials working to fight misinformation to increase COVID-19 vaccinations rates
John Hopkins suggest a third booster shot may be the answer for those patients.
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