Myocarditis describes inflammation of the heart muscle, while pericarditis refers to inflammation of the sac surrounding the muscle. It is appearing in some people, usually within 7 days of getting the mRNA vaccine and mostly in boys and young men.
The FDA has approved the mRNA COVID vaccines for children 5-11 and believes the benefits outweigh the risks, even in Moderna, one they didn’t approve.
That is despite the fact that healthy children are not at great risk from COVID and are not great spreaders of the virus.
According to the Wall Street Journal, researchers are refocusing on the spike proteins as the culprits in the heart-related risks linked to the shots.
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Researchers aren’t certain why the messenger RNA vaccines, one from Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE and the other from Moderna Inc., are likely causing the inflammatory heart conditions myocarditis and pericarditis in a small number of cases.
They Don’t Know:
Some theories center on the type of spike protein that a person makes in response to the mRNA vaccines. The mRNA itself or other components of the vaccines, researchers say, could also be setting off certain inflammatory responses in some people.
One new theory under examination: improper injections of the vaccine directly into a vein, which sends the vaccine to the heart muscle.
Covid-19 itself can cause both conditions. They have also been reported in a smaller number of people who got an mRNA vaccine, most commonly in men under 30 years and adolescent males.
About 877 confirmed cases of myocarditis in vaccinated people under 30 years have been reported in the U.S., out of 86 million mRNA vaccine doses administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…
…Researchers have been trying to understand the link between the cases and vaccination, as health authorities expand the vaccination campaign by recommending boosters and broadening use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to younger children.
The FDA has, however, held up authorizing use of the Moderna vaccine in adolescents while it investigates the risk.
It might be the spike proteins
The antibodies against the spike protein may have the unintended effect of acting against heart proteins, said Dr. Bozkurt, who co-wrote a review of vaccine-associated myocarditis in the journal Circulation in July, according to the WSJ report.
This “molecular mimicry” theory hasn’t been fully tested in vaccinated people and doesn’t explain why myocarditis only occurs in certain people, she said.
Some of the mRNA in the vaccines may also be taken up by heart cells known as cardiomyocytes, said Jay Schneider, a consultant in cardiovascular medicine at the Mayo Clinic’s Jacksonville, Fla., campus, The WSJ reports.
The WSJ continues: These cells may then produce the spike protein of the coronavirus, which could draw an antibody response against them, Dr. Schneider said. He said he has conducted lab tests and found that heart cells have taken up the Moderna vaccine and then expressed the spike protein.
Basically, there is a lot they still don’t know about this vaccine.
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