Yale researchers found that vaccine-related myocarditis stems from immune overactivation, not antibodies, with risk still higher from COVID-19 infection than vaccination.
Two years ago, as COVID-19 vaccines first started to be rolled out, there was a surge in myocarditis cases, a condition characterized by inflammation of the heart muscle. This was particularly noticeable in young males who received mRNA vaccines. It was unclear, however, what exactly was causing this reaction.
However, Yale researchers have now shed light on this issue through a recent study, where they identified the immune signature of these heart inflammation cases.
These findings, published May 5 in the journal Science Immunology, rule out some of the theorized causes of the heart inflammation and suggest potential ways to further reduce the incidence of a still rare side effect of vaccination, the authors say.
Myocarditis is a generally mild inflammation of heart tissue that can cause scarring but is usually resolved within days. The increased incidence of myocarditis during vaccination was seen primarily in males in their teens or early 20s, who had been vaccinated with mRNA vaccines, which are designed to elicit immune responses specifically to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Myocarditis from Vaccination vs. COVID-19 Infection
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), among males aged 12 to 17, about 22 to 36 per 100,000 experienced myocarditis within 21 days after receiving a second vaccine dose. Among unvaccinated males in this age group, the incidence of myocarditis was 50.1 to 64.9 cases per 100,000 after infection with the COVID-19 virus.
For the new study, the Yale research team conducted a detailed analysis of immune system responses in those rare cases of myocarditis among vaccinated individuals. The team was led by Carrie Lucas, associate professor of immunobiology, Akiko Iwasaki, Sterling Professor of Immunobiology, and Inci Yildirim, associate professor of pediatrics and epidemiology.
They found that the heart inflammation was not caused by antibodies created by the vaccine, but rather by a more generalized response involving immune cells and inflammation.
“The immune systems of these individuals get a little too revved up and over-produce cytokine and cellular responses,” Lucas said.
Adjusting Vaccine Timing to Reduce Myocarditis Risk
Earlier research had suggested that increasing the time between vaccination shots from four to eight weeks may reduce the risk of developing myocarditis.
Lucas noted that, according to CDC findings, the risk of myocarditis is significantly greater in unvaccinated individuals who contract the COVID-19 virus than in those who receive vaccines. She emphasized that vaccination offers the best protection from COVID-19-related diseases.
“I hope this new knowledge will enable further optimizing mRNA vaccines, which, in addition to offering clear health benefits during the pandemic, have a tremendous potential to save lives across numerous future applications,” said Anis Barmada, an M.D./Ph.D. student at Yale School of Medicine, who is a co-first author of the paper with Jon Klein, also a Yale M.D./Ph.D. student.
Reference: “Cytokinopathy with aberrant cytotoxic lymphocytes and profibrotic myeloid response in SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine–associated myocarditis” by Anis Barmada, Jon Klein, Anjali Ramaswamy, Nina N. Brodsky, Jillian R. Jaycox, Hassan Sheikha, Kate M. Jones, Victoria Habet, Melissa Campbell, Tomokazu S. Sumida, Amy Kontorovich, Dusan Bogunovic, Carlos R. Oliveira, Jeremy Steele, E. Kevin Hall, Mario Pena-Hernandez, Valter Monteiro, Carolina Lucas, Aaron M. Ring, Saad B. Omer, Akiko Iwasaki, Inci Yildirim and Carrie L. Lucas, 5 May 2023, Science Immunology.
DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.adh3455
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7 Comments
Another study brought you by Pfizer?
Hahahahahahaa heheheheheheeh LOOOL
Have you watched athletes drop dead from a disease called SDS (sudden death syndrom)?
All were vaccinated!!!
Do you know how many unvaccinated athletes died on the field in 2021, 2022 and 2023?
None.
Do you know how many died off the field after getting Covid-19? Do you know that when vaccinations are required, people who are on the field will be vaccinated, and when there’s no increase in SDS, there’s no evidence that it’s related to anything in the vaccine? Since people are exposed to everything in the vaccine anyway if they get Covid-19, what’s your point?
Given that the mRNA vaccines cause your body to make a protein, and the virus itself causes your body to make 29 proteins, including the same one that your body makes after a vaccine, the idea that anybody should avoid the vaccine when they will get the same protein and a lot worse with the virus makes absolutely no sense.
If you don’t get the vaccine, you are not avoiding anything that’s in the vaccine, nor are you avoiding anything that the vaccine does if you get Covid-19.
No one trusts the FDA, the CDC, and others. That trust will have to be earned back over a period of Tim.
Once you are lied to by a “trusted government agency” people tend not to believe anything they say now.
Where do y’all get your money from?
Pfizer, Moderna?
Can you say Nuremberg 2.0, ohhh yea it’s coming y’all might want to get ahead of that curve…
I wish I never got the vaccine. Doctors don’t want to help me because it can’t possibly be the vaccine. The conspiracy theorists have been more correct about this, the USA is an extremely evil country.
I am 91 and was was h0spitalized with myocarditis after my third covid booster a year ago. My GP recommends no more booster shots. I am looking for a expert opinion