Covid vaccines from corporations such as Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca have been linked to rare cases of heart, brain and blood disorders, according to a recent peer-reviewed study, experts say the risks of developing Covid-19 far outweigh the risks of getting vaccinated. .
Researchers from the Global Vaccine Data Network, a research arm of the World Health Organization, compared expected and observed rates in thirteen “adverse occasions of particular interest” situations in a study population of 99 million people vaccinated in eight countries. Largest Covid vaccine study to date.
Rare cases of myocarditis (inflammation of the center) have been known in the first, second and third doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines — the highest rate seen after the second dose of Moderna (6. 1 times the expected case rate), according to the study published in the journal Vaccine.
Another core disease called pericarditis had a 6. 9-fold increased risk in those who received a third dose of AstraZeneca’s viral vector vaccine, while a first and fourth doses of the Moderna vaccine had a 1. 7- and 2. 6-fold increased risk, respectively.
There is a 2. 5-fold increased risk of developing the rare autoimmune disease Guillain-Barré syndrome among those who received the AstraZeneca vaccine compared to the rate expected by researchers, and a 3. 2-fold increased risk of blood clots in the same population. .
According to the study, there is a 3. 8-fold increased risk of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, a neurological disorder, after receiving the Moderna vaccine, and a 2. 2-fold increased risk after the AstraZeneca vaccine.
13. 5 billion. That’s the number of Covid vaccines that have been administered internationally since the start of the Covid pandemic, according to clinical trials organization Our World in Data. About 71% of the world’s population has received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine.
“The likelihood of all these adverse events occurring is even much higher in the case of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection, so getting vaccinated is still the safest option,” said Jacob Glanville, CEO of biotech company Centivax. is. He’s not involved in the study, he told Forbes.
Covid vaccines are intended to prevent serious infections, and studies have indicated that the Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines are effective in preventing serious illness, hospitalizations and deaths. Meanwhile, the chances of having a neurological event after a Covid infection were up to 617 times greater than after a COVID vaccine, suggesting that “the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the threats,” according to the researchers. from the Vaccine study. According to Akiko Iwasaki, PhD, professor of immunobiology at Yale University, the risk of developing myocarditis is higher after a Covid infection than after receiving a Covid vaccine. The risk of myocarditis after the second dose of the Covid vaccine is 35. 9 per 100,000 people, compared to a risk of 64. 9 per 100,000 after Covid infection. The risk of developing Guillain-Barré syndrome after Covid infection was six times higher, and the risk of developing it after vaccination was 0. 41 times higher than the group, according to a 2023 study published in NeurologyArray. While most Americans have gained at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, adoption of updated booster shots to combat new coronavirus strains remains slow.
The fast-spreading JN. 1 variant of Covid led to a surge in cases in the fall and winter months, leading to a resurgence of the triple epidemic, when cases of Covid, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus simultaneously increase. GN. 1 accounted for 96. 4% of all cases in the two-week period ending Feb. 17. However, Covid cases (-0. 6%) and deaths (-6. 9%) have declined, although hospitalisations increased by 0. 8%, signalling the end of the tripledemic. The variant was classified as a “variant of interest,” meaning it spreads in a way that would possibly pose “an emerging threat to global public health,” through the World Health Organization in December. JN. 1 is an offshoot of the highly mutated Pirola virus (BA. 2. 86), which some experts feared, would not be protected against updated monovalent Covid boosters, which target XBB variants in particular. However, vaccine brands have made sure that their vaccines offer some protection.
JN. 1 Covid ‘variant of interest’ is spreading in the U. S. U. S. Airline: Here’s What You Want to Know (Forbes)
‘Tripledemic’ wave wanes as Covid, RSV and flu numbers drop for a week (Forbes)
What You Need to Know About the Fast-Spreading ‘Pirola’ Covid Variant BA. 2. 86 and Whether Vaccines Offer Protection (Forbes)