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Myocarditis, pericarditis incidence low across 10 million doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines

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By Caitlyn Stulpin
The incidence of myocarditis/pericarditis among veterans was low across more than 10 million doses of messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccines, given as a primary or booster dose, administered at the Veterans Health Administration, researchers found.

“We conducted this study because we were interested in estimating the incidence rate of myocarditis, pericarditis and myopericarditis following a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine across the Veterans Health Administration (VHA),” Jing Luo, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, told Healio. Read more in Healio.

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Did My Strong COVID Vax Reaction Give Me Better Immunity?

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— As people roll up their sleeves for another booster, here’s where the science stands

Is a strong reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine a sign of a more robust immune response that ultimately brings better protection against infection, hospitalization, and death?

Many are asking that question as they roll up their sleeves for yet another booster.

Science doesn’t have a definitive answer, as the literature is generally mixed — although two papers in the JAMA network of journals suggest that experiencing more side effects does correlate with higher levels of anti-spike antibodies. Read more in MedPage Today.

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Here’s How to Avoid a COVID-19 Vaccine Mix-Up

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— And what to do if it happens to you

Recognizing the potential for vaccine administration errors with look-alike vials, CDC staff shared best practices for giving the right vaccine to the right person at the right dose, during a Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) webinar earlier this week.

The most concerning possible vaccination error would be that a child might receive a higher dose of vaccine than indicated for his or her age, because of the potential for increased reactogenicity — for example an arm that is more sore than normal or a fever — Elisha Hall, PhD, Clinical Guidelines Lead and a Health Education Specialist for the CDC, told MedPage Today in a follow-up phone call. Read the full story in MedPage Today.

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COVID-19 vaccines saved nearly 20M lives in first year, study finds

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COVID-19 vaccination “fundamentally altered” the pandemic by saving nearly 20 million lives in the first year that vaccines were available, researchers found using a mathematical model.

“We wanted to conduct this study to understand how much worse the pandemic could have been without vaccination and, in doing so, demonstrate how many lives have been saved by generating and distributing vaccines as quickly as we did,” Oliver J. Watson, PhD, Schmidt Science Fellow at the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis of the Imperial College London, told Healio. “From an investment angle, these types of estimates will also underpin how we will evaluate the global vaccination campaign.” Read the full story in Healio.

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Study compares heterologous and homologous third vaccination in kidney transplant recipients

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As of February 28, 2022, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused over 5.95 million deaths worldwide, with especially high rates of mortality reported among the elderly, frail, and immunocompromised.

Kidney transplant recipients are among the most at-risk individuals of COVID-19 due to the need for long-term immunosuppressive medication to avoid rejection. Their response to vaccination is also poor, and researchers continue to examine methods to achieve a better vaccine response in this population. Read more.

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