Are Boys Exposed To A Higher Risk Of Myocarditis?
Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : September 27, 2021The rate of post vaccination cardiac myocarditis in children between the ages of 12 and 15 who received mRNA Covid vaccines was analyzed by a retrospective paper that was not reviewed by peers.
Are Boys Exposed To A Higher Risk Of Myocarditis?
The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System was searched by researchers for reports of children between the ages of 12 and 17 between the time period Jan 2021, to June 2021.
The words myocarditis, pericarditis, myopericarditis, chest pain, and a troponin lab, which identifies a heart attack and other heart conditions. In these children, a diagnosis of cardia adverse events was inferred.
In June 2021, the CDC announced that the occurrence of myocarditis and pericarditis is being monitored actively after the Covid vaccination.
It has been recommended by the CDC that everyone over the age of 12 should get the vaccine.
The reports they had identified as CAE rates by age, vaccination dose number, and sex was stratified by researchers.
Based on available literature concerning Covid related hospitalization risk in that age group, a harm benefit analysis was conducted by them.
257 CAEs were identified by the study in total.
In boys aged 12-15 years, the rate was 162.2. In boys aged 16-17, it was 94. In girls aged 12-15, it was 13 and 13.4 in girls between 16 and 17. These figures are in terms of cases per million.
It was estimated by the study that CAE incidence was between 3.7 and 6.1 times higher than their Covid hospitalization risk for 12 days in health boys between the ages of 12 and 15 who received their second mRNA dose.
In healthy boys aged between 16 and 17, it was estimated that the CAE incidence was 2.1-3.5 times higher.
Due to infections, autoimmune diseases, environmental factors, or medicines, inflammation may occur in the heart. This may cause damage and lead to health problems.
In the tissue that forms a sac around the heart and in the heart muscle, inflammation may be formed.
Reports of adverse events are collected by VAERS which is a post marketing safety program in the Unites States.
This information is collected from patients, family members, healthcare providers, vaccine manufacturers, and the general public in the US.
Dr. Danelle Fisher, a pediatrician said that all myocarditis causes symptoms and this includes chest pain, palpitations, and difficulty breathing. She said that children with myocarditis are generally admitted to the hospital so that they can be monitored.
Dr. Fisher is also the Chair of Pediatrics at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA.
She added that myocarditis does not have a specific treatment and that supportive care is used.
This means that for chest pain or discomfort, things like ibuprofen cannot be used.
She said that cardiac dysfunction can be experienced by a small subset of patients who already have myocarditis, but it is still incredibly rare.
She said that the number of people who suffer from cardiac issues due to Covid will far outweigh the number of people who develop myocarditis due to the vaccine.
The limitations for this study are posed in the form of inappropriate usage of VAERS reporting data in order to calculate the CAE rate.
Dr. Fisher said that the first thing that occurred to her was that this was an evaluation of the VAERS database.
She added that that she looked at this data being self-reported or not even reviewed by physicians.
In the VAERS data disclaimer, using VAERS data that is unverified is not recommended especially in the calculation of the incidence of heart inflammation. This is because the accuracy and applicability of the study’s findings are limited.
With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.