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.
Topline
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)
by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported last week that COVID-19 cases fell again from 58 to 44 to now 32, their lowest level since last summer. In addition, hospitalizations remain at a low level, and fatalities have eased back. There were 3 fatalities in this report. The pandemic death total now stands at 1,144 as of March 30, 2024 (the most recent data available). Total reported deaths in January were 28, which is the highest monthly total in a year, but only 16 in February and 10 so far reported in March.
The VDH reported last week that COVID-19 hospitalizations were at a statewide total of 8, which is the lowest they've been since last summer. COVID-19 activity remains in the "Low" range, according to the VDH.
Of the total deaths to date, 922 have been of Vermonters 70 or older. There have been 3 deaths of Vermonters under 30 since the beginning of the pandemic.
CDC states that already an estimated 97% of Americans have some level of immunity, from either vaccination or infection or both, which they said will help keep down new transmission and lessen serious outcomes.
More recently, on March 7, 2024, a study by a nationwide collaborative group including University of Vermont Larner scientists, published in Nature Communications, explored how the human body responded to mRNA COVID-19 vaccinessuch as PfizerBioNTech Moderna. Both vaccines work by helping the body produce antibodies against the COVID-19 viruss spike protein, but the study team found that the efficacy of the vaccines varied among subjects.
Researchers found that individuals over the age of 65, men, those with higher weight, smokers, diabetics, and those with a history of emphysema tended to have lower antibody levels. To contrast, subjects who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 previouslyparticularly those with COVID-19 severe enough to lead to hospitalizationhad significantly higher levels of anti-S1 than other groups in the study. Surprisingly, those who had taken the Moderna vaccine also reported a significantly higher level of anti-S1 than the PfizerBioNTech recipients.
Report Timeframe: March 24 to March 30, 2024
(see data tables below)
The hospitalizations dataset contains day-level data reported from all Vermont hospitals each Tuesday. Reported numbers are subject to correction.
The number of reportable COVID-19 cases is still available in this report, below. Laboratory-confirmed and diagnosed COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 outbreaks must still be reported to the Vermont Department of Health.
There were 3 outbreaks last week, of which 2 were in long-term care facilities and none in schools.
Vermont Department of Health recommendations: Preventing COVID-19 (healthvermont.gov)
Vermont has the second lowest state fatality rate in the US (132.5 per 100K; Hawaii 104.1/100K). Mississippi (447/100K) and Oklahoma (444.1/100K) have the highest rates. The US average is 297.3/100K (CDC data).
There has been a total of 1,187,509 COVID-related deaths to date in the US (CDC) and 7,042,222 globally (WHO).
Following an analysis of COVID-19 data, the VDH reported in January 2023 a cumulative 86 additional COVID-associated deaths that occurred over the course of the pandemic but had not been previously reported. Most of those deaths occurred in 2022.
COVID-19 Update for the United States
Early Indicators
Test Positivity
% Test Positivity
3.5%
(March 24 to March 30, 2024)
Trend in % Test Positivity
-0.6% in most recent week
Emergency Department Visits
% Diagnosed as COVID-19
0.5%
(March 24 to March 30, 2024)
Trend in % Emergency Department Visits
-14.5% in most recent week
These early indicators represent a portion of national COVID-19 tests and emergency department visits. Wastewater information also provides early indicators of spread.
Severity Indicators
Hospitalizations
Hospital Admissions
8,015
(March 24 to March 30, 2024)
Trend in Hospital Admissions
-15.3% in most recent week
Deaths
% of All Deaths in U.S. Due to COVID-19
1.2%
(March 24 to March 30, 2024)
Trend in % COVID-19 Deaths
-20% in most recent week
Total Hospitalizations
6,909,932
CDC | Test Positivity data through: March 30, 2024; Emergency Department Visit data through: March 30, 2024; Hospitalization data through: March 30, 2024; Death data through: March 30, 2024. Posted: April 8, 2024 3:21 PM ET
The Delta variant took off in August 2021, which resulted in the heaviest number of deaths before vaccines and their boosters helped alleviate serious COVID cases. Multiple Omicron variants are now circulating and appear more virulent than previous variants, but perhaps not more dangerous, according to the CDC.
New COVID-19 variant JN.1: Experts explain symptoms, how to spot and treat the new strain
AP April 5, 2023: WHO downgrades COVID pandemic, says it's no longer a global health emergency
Walk-in vaccination clinics run by the state closed on January 31, 2023. Learn more
Vermonters are reminded that all state COVID testing sites were closed as of June 25, 2022. PCR and take-home tests are available through doctors' offices, pharmacies and via mail from the federal government. The federal government officially ended its pandemic response as of May 11, 2023. See more information BELOW or here: https://www.healthvermont.gov/covid-19/testing.
Starting May 11, 2023, the CDC and Vermont Department of Health will no longer use the COVID-19 Community Level to measure COVID-19 activity in the U.S. and Vermont. Instead, Vermont's statewide COVID-19 level will be measured by the rate of COVID-19 in people being admitted to the hospital, per 100,000 residents.
Focusing on hospitalization data is a better estimate of how COVID-19 is impacting the community now that reported COVID-19 cases represent a smaller proportion of actual infections. This also allows us to compare Vermonts hospitalization levels with other parts of the country.
The Delta variant caused a surge in COVID-related fatalities last fall and into the winter.
The highest concentration of deaths was from September 2021 through February 2022. Overall, December 2020 and January 2022 were the worst months with 72 fatalities each.
The US confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on January 20, 2020.
Vermonters ages 6 months and older are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines. Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is the safer way to build protection from serious illnesseven for those who have already had COVID-19. Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines (CDC)
COVID-19 vaccines are free and widely available. Anyone can get vaccinated in Vermont, including those who live in another state, are non-U.S. citizens, or who have no insurance. See Vermont's current vaccine rates
Know your rights when getting free vaccines.
You are considered up-to-date if you are over the age of 6 years old and have received a bivalent (updated) COVID-19 vaccine.Learn more about kid vaccines
If you are unable or choose not to get a recommended bivalent mRNA vaccine, you will be up to date if you received the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine doses approved for your age group.
Find more on recommended doses from CDC
COVID Vaccine Information for Health Care Professionals
More on COVID-19 Vaccines (CDC)
Recommended COVID Vaccine Doses (CDC)
Find a COVID-19 vaccine near you.
Image
Use Vaccines.gov to find a location near you, then call or visit the location's website to make an appointment.
Vaccines.gov
Everyone 6 months of age and older is eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccination.Most children are also now eligible for a bivalent dose that offers increased protection against the original strain and omicron variants.
See more on recommended vaccine doses by age group (CDC)
Resources for parents and caregivers
https://www.vermontfamilynetwork.org/ccfk/
Tips for Helping Kids Feel Ready for Any Vaccine (Vermont Family Network)
#factsheet
What Families with Children Should Know About COVID-19 Vaccines (translated)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWcqHOgQIVg&t=5s
Conversations About COVID-19 Vaccines for Children with Vermont Pediatricians (American Academy of Pediatrics)
If you cannot get vaccines through any of the options above, our local health offices
offer immunization clinics by appointment.
Need a ride? If you do not have transportation to get a free COVID-19 vaccine or booster, please contact your local public transportation provider or callVermont Public Transportation Association (VPTA)
at 833-387-7200.
English language learners, or immigrant or refugee community members, who would like to learn about more about vaccine clinics can contact theAssociation of Africans Living in Vermont
(AALV) at 802-985-3106.
If you lost your vaccine card or your information is wrong:
Recommendations for keeping your vaccination card and record up to date
Find more COVID-19 translations
COVID-19 resources for people who are deaf and hard of hearing
Report your COVID-19 test results
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.
David M. Higgins, a pediatrician at the University of Colorado and Childrens Hospital Colorado, sees patients and also conducts research but not the type of research thats done in the laboratory with beakers and things like that, as he puts it. Rather, his focus is on health services research, including the study of vaccine delivery, public access to vaccines, and vaccine hesitancy.
Hes particularly concerned about misconceptions regarding vaccine hesitancy, especially among parents which he says is not as widespread as many believe. As he wrote recently in an essay in The New England Journal of Medicine, co-authored with Sean T. OLeary: We believe vaccine hesitancy shouldnt be normalized when it is not the norm.
Our interview was conducted over Zoom and by email, and has been edited for length and clarity.
Undark: Although vaccine hesitancy has a long history, it seemed to spark increased discussion beginning in 2020, when the first vaccines for Covid-19 were developed. In your recent essay, you call for caution in the way we talk about vaccine hesitancy. What are your main concerns?
David Higgins: The dominant narrative, that the data doesnt support, coming out of mass media, social media, and just the national conversation about childhood vaccine hesitancy, seems to be this idea that parental hesitancy about routine childhood vaccines is now commonplace, and it's widespread.
This kind of narrative that the sky is falling tends to ignore the actual data, which show that an overwhelming majority of parents in the U.S., across political and ideological divides, continue to see the value of childhood vaccines, and continue to vaccinate their children according to recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC.
UD:What trends have you noticed in terms of parents willingness to have their children receive routine vaccinations like measles, mumps, and rubella?
DH: There are multiple different data points, including research studies, national polls, and data out of the CDC, that really still paint a picture of broad support for the value of vaccines in children. For instance, some of the most recent data from the CDC says that 93 percent of parents of kindergarten students opted to vaccinate their kindergarteners with all of the state-required vaccines, and that vaccine coverage for children, by the time they're 2 years old, hasn't significantly changed since the start of the pandemic. And even further, only 1 percent of children born in 2019 or 2020 didn't receive any vaccines by their second birthday. That's a tiny percent of children.
We also have seen data from national polls, such as the Pew Research and [KFF], showing still robust confidence in the value of vaccines, such as vaccines for measles, with close to 9 out of 10 parents continuing to see the value and benefit of measles vaccines. We also did a study here in Colorado last fall, looking at changes in parental vaccine hesitancy from before the pandemic, throughout the pandemic, and after the pandemic and we didn't find large changes in parental vaccine hesitancy overall.
Now, we did find some changes and in whether parents trust vaccine information, and those types of changes, but we didnt find big changes overall. And those data collectively really continue to paint a picture of strong, robust confidence in the value of vaccines.
The research and the data that we see really paint a picture thats different than the dominant narrative that vaccine hesitancy for routine childhood vaccines is now commonplace and widespread and the norm.
UD: What should doctors keep in mind as they talk with people, and especially parents, about vaccines?
DH: The concern with this false narrative is that this can have negative repercussions on people such as doctors, health care professionals, public health professionals. We know that a strong recommendation for vaccines, when its formed in a way that presumes parents want to vaccinate their children, because that is still the norm we know that can actually increase vaccine acceptance.
So if a doctor or health care professional continually expects significant vaccine resistance because they misperceive the norm then their recommendation, if they give one at all, may be less effective. They may lose confidence in their ability to really have any influence on parental vaccine decision-making, if they assume that most parents are hesitant.
UD: In your essay you wrote, When it comes to parents themselves, normalizing vaccine hesitancy has the potential to be a dangerous self-fulfilling prophecy. Can you explain that idea in more detail?
DH: I am concerned that when parents see this narrative that they might start to think whether vaccines are a good idea for their children as well, when they didn't have those concerns in the first place. Normalizing vaccine hesitancy could unnecessarily contribute to parental self-doubt about the value of vaccines this idea that it seems that everyone else is hesitant about vaccines; maybe I should be hesitant too.
UD: A number of outbreaks of measles have been reported recently. Do we know how closely those outbreaks are associated with vaccine hesitancy?
DH: Thats a great question, because we unfortunately have seen an increase in measles cases across the U.S. this year. Measles is an incredibly, incredibly contagious disease, and really requires extremely high vaccination rates to prevent outbreaks and spread.
Now, vaccine hesitancy has a role in under-vaccination, or vaccine delay and refusal. However, the reality is more complicated than simply vaccine hesitancy is the only cause of measles outbreaks. It might be easy to blame the 7 percent of children who were under-vaccinated for measles by the time they reach kindergarten on anti-vaccine or science-denier parents but in reality we still have significant access issues as well. Unfortunately, accessing vaccines is still often far too difficult for families, especially families in marginalized communities.
To illustrate this, many families still cant find a primary care provider that has reasonable availability. During the unwinding of Medicaid last year, many families lost Medicaid insurance for their children, and they are having a hard time finding free vaccines for measles through great programs like the Vaccines for Children program.
Also, many parents simply haven't had the chance to ask a trusted health care professional about vaccines, and hear from them about the value of vaccines for diseases like measles. So the problem is, when the dominant narrative is that vaccine hesitancy alone drives under-vaccination for diseases like measles, then efforts to address access barriers to measles vaccines may fall short.
UD: Are you concerned about children in the U.S. not being up to date on their Covid vaccines?
DH: Yes, I am concerned. Lets simplify things and remove the Covid-19 name and all the polarizing baggage that may come with that name out of the equation. In our communities, we have a common and contagious respiratory disease that is still causing severe illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths in children. And we have a safe and effective vaccine to prevent this disease. Yet, most children are not receiving it. That concerns me.
The reasons children have fallen behind on Covid-19 vaccines are complex and evolving, including attitudinal and access barriers. However, I am careful not to blame low pediatric Covid-19 vaccination rates squarely on parents or mislabel parents as being anti-vaccine.
Most parents I see whose children havent received recommended Covid-19 vaccines or parents who have concerns about Covid-19 vaccines arent anti-vax or science deniers. Usually, these parents accept other vaccines for their children. Many of these parents dont know and havent heard about the continued value of Covid-19 vaccines for their children from someone they trust. As health care providers, we must do a better job of sharing this continued value with parents with empathy and clear communication.
UD: Have we learned all the lessons that we ought to have learned from the pandemic, or are there are there lessons that you feel might not have sunk in yet?
DH: I think its important to continually be learning lessons about how we have handled vaccine delivery, vaccine hesitancy and confidence, so that we can apply those lessons to the future. Because this is not the last time we will have either a pandemic or a new disease, or the last time that were going to have great vaccines that can really improve health and keep children healthy.
Vaccine hesitancy did not start with the Covid-19 pandemic. As pediatricians we have been addressing vaccine hesitancy for a very long time. In fact, vaccine hesitancy goes back as far as the first vaccine created for smallpox, over 200 years ago.
Theres a saying in vaccine delivery research that even the best vaccine is zero percent effective if it only sits in a vial, right? Vaccines dont save lives vaccinations save lives. Actually having people take the vaccines saves lives. And so we absolutely can continually improve on how we communicate about the value of vaccines, how we share information with families and parents, so that more and more children can get the benefits of vaccines.
Dan Falk
This article was originally published on Undark on April 5. Read the original article.
PORTLAND, Ore. A new study from the Oregon Health Authority finds no link between the COVID-19 vaccine and sudden cardiac deaths of young people.
Researchers took a look at nearly 1,300 deaths of people aged 16 to 30 between 2021 and 2022.
It was found that none of the deaths that happened within 100 days of vaccination were attributed to the vaccine.
However, 30 of those deaths were from COVID.
Only 3 of those people were vaccinated.
The OHA acknowledges some limitations to the study:
First, researchers could not exclude the possibility of vaccine-associated cardiac deaths more than 100 days after COVID-19 vaccination.
They also pointed out that published data indicate potential adverse events associated with vaccinations tend to occur within 42 days of vaccination.
Second, although nearly a million adolescents and young adults had received a COVID-19 vaccination during the period of the study, the research could not exclude a rarer event among vaccinees in this age group.
Heres more from the OHA:
OHA study: No link between COVID-19 vaccine, cardiac deaths
Article published in CDCsMMWRfinds no deaths attributed to mRNA shots
PORTLAND, Ore. COVID-19 vaccination is not linked to death from cardiac causes among previously healthy young people, according to an Oregon Health Authority (OHA) study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The study, appearing today in the CDCsMorbidity and Mortality Weekly Report(MMWR), examined nearly 1,300 deaths among Oregon adolescents and young adults ages 16 to 30 occurring over 19 months during 2021 and 2022. It found that none of the fatalities that happened within 100 days of receiving an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine dose was attributed to vaccination.
The findings answer a question thats lingered since early 2021 as state and federal public health agencies rolled out new mRNA vaccines during the pandemic: Do rare cases of myocarditis associated with COVID-19 vaccination put people at increased risk for cardiac death?
Study co-authors Paul Cieslak, M.D., and Juventila Liko, M.D., M.P.H., of OHAs Acute and Communicable Disease Prevention Section, say suggestions of an association between receipt of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine dose and sudden cardiac death among healthy adolescents and young adults are not supported by the Oregon data they reviewed.
According to information recorded on death certificates, among 1,292 deaths of persons 16 to 30 years of age from June 2021 to December 2022, none was found to have been caused by COVID-19 vaccination, said Cieslak, medical director for communicable diseases and immunizations.
Of 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. No death certificate attributed death to vaccination.
Cieslak noted there were 30 deaths among persons this age that were caused by COVID-19. Among these 30 decedents, he said, the states ALERT Immunization Information System (IIS) database had records for 22 (73%), only three of whom had received any COVID-19 vaccination.
Studies have shown significant reductions in COVID-19-related mortality among vaccinated persons; during the first 2 years of COVID-19 vaccine availability in the United States, vaccination prevented an estimated 18.5 million hospitalizations and 3.2 million deaths, Cieslak and Liko wrote in their report.
The researchers acknowledged two limitations in their findings.
First, they could not exclude the possibility of vaccine-associated cardiac deaths more than 100 days after COVID-19 vaccination. They also pointed out that published data indicate potential adverse events associated with vaccinations tend to occur within 42 days of vaccination.
Second, although nearly a million adolescents and young adults had received a COVID-19 vaccination during the period of the study, the research could not exclude a rarer event among vaccinees in this age group.
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.
More than 40 per cent of Hong Kong civil servants dismissed over the past five years were sacked over not complying with the citys vaccination requirements when Covid-19 rules were in place.
Out of the 50 dismissal cases as a result of misconduct, 21 were related to violating a policy requiring staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
From February 2022, at the height of Hong Kongs fifth and most fatal wave of Covid-19, visitors and staff at government buildings and offices were required to meet specific vaccination requirements unless they had valid medical exemptions. The policy was later rolled out to restaurants and other businesses.
The rule was meant to further speed up the strengthening of the protective barrier against the virus among civil servants so as to mitigate any impact on the governments anti-epidemic effort, authorities said at the time.
To encourage vaccinations, the government also gave civil servants an extra paid vacation day after receiving each jab.
The Civil Service Bureau provided the dismissal figures in writing in response to lawmaker Chau Siu-chung, who raised the matter as part of initial questions asked by legislators ahead of Legislative Council meetings to discuss the budget for this financial year.
Officials from the Civil Service Bureau will address lawmakers on the questions in person at a meeting on Monday afternoon. Officials from the Department of Justice and Education Bureau are also expected to attend to answer questions directed at them.
Among the 50 dismissal cases over misconduct, 20 were related to unauthorised absence/unpunctuality. Four were related to misconduct bringing disrepute to the government.
Separately, there were 74 dismissals due to criminal offences. Eighteen related to cases of shoplifting or theft, while 14 were in connection with sex-related offences.
In a February Legislative Council document, the Civil Service Bureau said the disciplinary mechanism ensures that appropriate punishments are meted out to officers who have misconducted themselves under the principles of fairness and impartiality.
Civil servants suspected of misconduct are given a fair hearing and sufficient opportunities to defend themselves, the document added, with the accused allowed to present witnesses to give evidence in hearings, and engage legal representation.
The bureau also said that civil servants who were aggrieved by the formal disciplinary punishment could appeal or apply for a judicial review, which are court procedures where a judge examines the decision-making processes of administrative bodies.
On Thursday, a teacher who lost her job at a government secondary school over online comments about police during the 2019 protests challenged the Civil Service Bureaus decision to dismiss her at the High Court. She was fired last July after authorities determined that her actions had negatively affected students and tarnished the governments reputation.
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As someone who lost a family member to COVID-19, I believe House Bill 87, which prevents businesses that don't mandate the COVID vaccine from being sued if employees get sick willdo more harm than good.
My son-in-law was 48 when he died in February 2021 after catching COVID. My daughter became a widow at 37, and two teenaged girls lost their father. There was no vaccine available for my son-in-law. In February 2021, wearing masks, hand washing, and social distancing were the recommendations coming from officials.
My son-in-law was a military veteran and a working professional in the prime of his life.
He started feeling bad, developed a cough, tested positive for COVID-19, was seen by a doctor and prescribed medication for his cough. Three days later when he developed a fever, my daughter took him to the ER, and he was admitted to the hospital. Over the next three weeks, even though doctors and medical staff did all they could do for him, his condition worsened.
During that period, my daughter couldn't visit him. Before he was put on the ventilator, she did get to speak to him. Thankfully he was moved to an ICU room where she, my wife and I could see him, but he was sedated. On Feb. 6, 2021, my son-in-law died from COVID-19.
But my son-in-law wasn't the only one who died from COVID-19 that day. Across America, thousands of people died that day from the illness. I wore a mask then and still do, and I never caught COVID. But as a pastor, I understand and respect those that choose not to wear a mask.
I hope the Senate would come to a workable solution for both sides instead of being influenced by the callous, insensitive words of stateRep. Michael Echols.
RANDY PERKINS
Zachary
As a recent example of what may ensue, Pitesky points to the repeated African swine fever outbreaks across various Asian countries in the past decade, which decimated the pig farming industry to the extent that pork was briefly usurped by poultry as the most widely consumed animal protein on the planet. Pitesky argues, however, that the current model of governments heavily compensating farmers for their livestock losses in the wake of a viral outbreak is financially unsustainable, and more investment needs to be diverted toward AI-driven technologies that can prevent these infections in the first place.
I work on predictive models, using a combination of weather radar, satellite imagery, and machine learning, to understand how waterfowl behavior around different farms is changing, says Pitesky. We can use this information to understand which of the 50,000 to 60,000 commercial poultry facilities in the US are at most risk, and form strategies to protect all the birds in those facilities.
Technology may ultimately offer a path toward eliminating the virus in commercial poultry. In October, a team of researchers in the UK published a study in the journal Nature Communications demonstrating that it is possible to use the gene-editing tool Crispr to make chickens resistant to avian influenza. This was done through editing genes that make the proteins ANP32A, ANP32B, and ANP32E in chickens, which the virus uses to gain access to chicken cells.
Crispr has been shown to be capable of making livestock resistant to other infections such as the cancer-causing viral disease avian leukosis and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, which is responsible for widespread economic losses in pig farms.
The currently available methods are the use of strict farm biosecurity, poultry vaccinations in some countries, and massive depopulation of infected or exposed chicken flocks, says Alewo Idoko-Akoh at the University of Bristol, the lead researcher on the Nature Communications study. These methods have been partially successful but have so far failed to stop recurrent bird flu outbreaks around the world. Gene editing of chickens to introduce disease resistance should be considered as an additional tool for preventing or limiting the spread of bird flu.
Pitesky described the paper as really interesting but pointed out that it would require widespread public acceptance toward consuming gene-edited chicken for it to become commercially viable. I think that those technological solutions have a lot of potential, but the issue more than anything, especially in the United States, is sentiment toward chickens that have been genetically modified, he says.
For now, Iqbal says that the best chance of keeping avian influenza under control is more active surveillance efforts in animal populations around the world, to understand how and where the H5N1 is spreading.
The surveillance system has been improved, and any infection that appears unusual is thoroughly investigated, he says of the situation in the US. This has helped to identify unusual outbreaks, such as infections in goats and cattle. However, he says, much more work is needed to detect the virus in animals that dont show signs of disease.
With diary cows getting bird flu, researchers are trying to figure out what mutations could make the virus a threat to humans. Charlie Neibergall/AP hide caption
With diary cows getting bird flu, researchers are trying to figure out what mutations could make the virus a threat to humans.
The outbreak of bird flu in dairy cattle is still unfolding.
Both North Carolina and South Dakota have detected the virus in dairy herds, bringing the total number of states affected to eight.
The unlikely spread among cattle and one dairy worker has scientists looking through the data to better understand this spillover. They say the risk to humans hinges on whether the virus can evolve in key ways to better infect mammals.
So far, there's some reassuring news: At a recent meeting, scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the virus is not presenting like a respiratory illness in cattle meaning the animals don't appear to be shedding large amounts of virus from their nose or mouths.
Instead, federal health officials investigating the outbreak suspect some form of "mechanical transmission" is responsible for spreading the virus within the herd. This may be happening during the process of milking the cows, a theory supported by the fact that high concentrations of virus are being found in the milk.
"I want to emphasize really how unusual this is," says Thijs Kuiken, a professor of comparative pathology at Erasmus Medical Center. "In other mammalian species with influenza viruses, it's primarily a respiratory disease, which doesn't seem to be the case in these cattle."
The samples collected from infected animals and shared publicly do not suggest the virus has undergone radical changes that would be cause for alarm.
But there are certain signs of trouble in the genome of the virus that scientists are looking out for as it finds a way into more mammals.
"We really need to keep on top of this, because I think we are at a bit of a precipice where something interesting or unfortunate could happen," says Michelle Wille, a senior research fellow at the Center for Pathogen Genomics at the University of Melbourne.
With bird flu spreading among cows, scientists are concerned about potential future risks to humans. VW Pics/VWPics/Universal Images Group vi hide caption
With bird flu spreading among cows, scientists are concerned about potential future risks to humans.
Genetic sequencing of the virus in the Texas dairy worker showed it had undergone a mutation in a gene, PB2, that commonly gets affected when the virus infects mammals.
This is a clue that the virus is evolving to better replicate inside a mammal, but it's not sufficient to make the virus transmit more easily between humans, says Nichola Hill, a disease ecologist at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
"Sometimes we see these early markers of adaptation," she says, "It needs a handful [of markers] coordinated across multiple different gene segments for it to really be this breakthrough and the next pandemic."
And it would need to become better at transmitting through the air, like the seasonal influenza viruses that humans tend to catch. Currently most cases of bird flu in people are linked to direct contact with an infected animal, oftentime when a chicken is being slaughtered, says David Swayne, a poultry veterinarian who used to work for the USDA.
"It takes a very, very high dose," he says, "It's probably not just exposure to infected poultry it's exposure to processes that aerosolized the virus."
But the fear is that could change as the virus spends more time in mammals:
Specifically, the protein that the virus uses to bind to cells could evolve to lock onto the receptors in the upper respiratory tract of humans. This would allow it to easily gain access and churn out copies of itself.
"That's considered basically a main barrier that prevents this from becoming a virus that could spread efficiently between people," says Darwyn Kobasa, head of high containment respiratory viruses at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory.
When the virus has spilled into mammals, scientists have not seen a lot of evolution in this function over the last few years, says Anice Lowen, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Emory University.
Lowen says previous research has shown the protein on the virus would not only need to recognize the human receptors in our upper airways but also become more stable, presumably so it doesn't fall apart during transmission through the air.
These two changes plus mutations in the PB2 gene to support replication would all need to come together to support efficient spread in mammals, she says. Of course, she adds, "there's potentially other factors that we don't yet understand."
There are still big questions about exactly how bird flu plays out in cattle, since it's only now being followed closely. "There certainly are many mutations that occurred with this jump from wild birds into cattle and we don't necessarily understand what they mean," says Hill.
With millions of birds infected all over the globe, it's likely that many mammals are being infected through consuming dead birds or being exposed to feces.
Wille says the virus may have been introduced into dairy cattle in a similar way, perhaps infected birds somehow got into their feed.
"It's not that hard to imagine that we have a sort of contaminated feed situation," she says
But this kind of reasoning may not fully explain mass infection events in some mammals, including "unprecedented" die-offs of seals and sea lions in South America and an outbreak on a mink farm in Spain.
It's still not clear what's driving transmission in those instances, maybe animals were spreading it to each other, says Wille.
Experiments done in labs offer some clues. They have shown mammals can pass on this version of H5N1, and even offer some preliminary evidence suggesting limited airborne transmission.
In one recent study, scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed how an isolate of the virus taken from a severe human case in Chile spread among ferrets.
They found that variant had a "high capacity to cause fatal disease" among the animals and that it showed enhanced ability to replicate in human cells cultured in the lab, but "did not exhibit productive transmission in respiratory droplets" or via contaminated surfaces when tested in animals.
A separate study by scientists at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory infected ferrets in the lab with samples of the virus collected from wild animals.
Those experiments found a particular version of the virus, taken from a hawk, could transmit very rapidly from ferret to ferret through direct contact and cause lethal infection in the originally uninfected animals, says Kobasa, senior author of the study which has not yet been published.
They also found evidence the virus had spread through the air between ferrets in different cages, but they didn't see severe illness in the animals who were infected in this way. It's possible there wasn't enough virus being transmitted to "overcome the immune barriers that would prevent infection," he says.
The results are "very preliminary" and what happens under controlled lab conditions isn't necessarily indicative of what can happen in the wild, he says. "We certainly don't see any changes that would suggest that there's any way to support efficient airborne transmission."
While helpful, Lowen says experiments on ferrets need to be interpreted with caution, especially in the context of humans.
She says overall there's still very limited evidence for transmission through the air: "The fact that ferrets transmit pretty consistently in contact exposure is a bit concerning, but these results don't throw up a lot of red flags for me."
