Coronavirus vaccines from companies including Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca are linked to rare heart, brain and blood disorders, according to the largest vaccine study to date.
researchers Global Vaccine Data Network It analyzed the 99 million people who have received the jab across eight countries and monitored increases in 13 medical conditions. Bloomberg News reported.
The study, published last week in the journal Vaccines, found that the vaccine was associated with a small spike in neurological, blood and heart-related conditions.
Rare cases of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) have been found with the first, second and third doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines.
Another heart disease, pericarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle, had a 6.9-fold increased risk in people who received the third dose of AstraZeneca’s viral vector vaccine, the study found.
Meanwhile, the first and fourth doses of Moderna’s jab increased the risk by 1.7 and 2.6 times, respectively.
Bloomberg also found an increased risk of blood clots in the brain from viral vector shots like the one developed by the University of Oxford and manufactured by AstraZeneca.
The study found that people who received the AstraZeneca jab had a 2.5 times higher risk of developing Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disease in which the immune system attacks nerves.
Potential safety signal for transverse myelitis, an inflammation of the spinal cord, identified after viral vector vaccines, as well as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, inflammation and swelling of the brain and spinal cord, after both viral vector and mRNA vaccines Researchers found that. .
GVDV experts in New Zealand, a research arm of the World Health Organization, have identified 13 adverse events of particular interest among subjects, with the aim of identifying higher-than-expected cases after vaccination. The condition was investigated.
More than 13.5 billion vaccines have been administered worldwide since the pandemic began. A small proportion of vaccinated people have been harmed by the shot, sparking debate about its benefits and risks.
“The population size of this study increased the likelihood of identifying rare potential vaccine safety signals,” lead author Kristina Faxova from Denmark’s Statens Serum Institute Epidemiology Research Division said in a release. .
“A single location or region is unlikely to have a large enough population to detect very rare signals,” she added.
One expert not involved in the study argued that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh the risks.
“The odds of experiencing all these adverse events when infected with SARS-CoV-2 are still much higher, so getting vaccinated is a much safer choice,” says the biotech company. said Jacob Granville, CEO of Centivaix. told Forbes.
Dr. Mark Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at New York University Langone Medical Center, shared similar conclusions.
“Large studies and review of data reveal rare association between mRNA vaccines and myocarditis, particularly after second dose, and association between Oxford-AstraZeneca adenovirus vector vaccine and Guillain-Barré syndrome ,” Siegel said. he participated in research told Fox News Digital.
“However, these risks are rare, and other studies have shown that the vaccine dramatically reduces the risk of myocarditis caused by the coronavirus itself,” he said, noting that all vaccines have side effects. He added that there is.
“Ultimately, it comes down to the risks and benefits of what we fear more: the side effects of the vaccine, or the virus itself, which can cause long-term side effects such as brain fog, fatigue, coughing and even heart problems. It comes down to analysis,” Siegel said.
“It’s not good science to deny or exaggerate the side effects of vaccines, and it’s also not good to underestimate the risks of the virus, especially in high-risk groups,” Siegel added.
The newspaper has contacted Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca for comment.
