Since the invention of the COVID-19 vaccine, anti-vaxxers have started what seemed like a ‘war’ against the administration of the vaccine.
To buttress their point, they often blame certain health conditions on the severe effects of the vaccine.
The outbreak of COVID-19 in China in 2019 – and its subsequent spread to other parts of the world in 2020 – posed a major challenge to the governments of various countries. This led to the lockdown of cities, markets, and schools, among other measures to contain the spread of the virus.
Nigeria recorded its first virus case in Lagos State on February 27, 2020. At the time, the governments of Lagos, Ogun, and Abuja enforced a 14-day lockdown as part of measures to curb the virus.
The growing infection rate of COVID-19 stimulated international alliances and government efforts to organise resources to make multiple vaccines on shortened timelines urgently.
From June 2020, when the Chinese government approved the use of an experimental Ad5-nCoV – COVID-19 vaccine presumably designed for the country’s military – there has been a sporadic increase in the development of vaccines meant for public consumption.
Russia approved the Sputnik V vaccine for emergency use amid criticisms that the vaccine had yet to complete the phase 3 trials as the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended.
By November of the same year, there was an increase in the number of COVID-19 vaccines being tested in large phase three clinical trials; Pfizer and BioNTech submitted a request to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of their mRNA vaccine candidate, BNT162b2 against SARS-CoV-2.
While this was approved in December 2020, the Moderna vaccine mRNA-1273 was also approved. Also, the Oxford–AstraZeneca Covid‑19 vaccine was approved in the United Kingdom in the same month.
By February 2021, the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson reportedly submitted a vaccine for approval to the European Medicines Agency.
In a bid to fight misinformation, several fact-check outlets – including DUBAWA – have, over time, debunked conspiracy theories surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine and its effect on people.
Recently, a Twitter user @kevinnbass put out a thread on the connection between the Moderna vaccination and booster he took and the pericarditis he battled with.
“I had 2 Moderna vaccinations and a booster and was hospitalised for acute pericarditis last year. I was afraid for my life. The medical community minimised vaccine myopericarditis in young men early on. This we now know was a serious, avoidable mistake,” he wrote.
In a follow-up tweet, the user claimed the vaccine was for older people and that encouraging its use for younger adults undermines the public trust in public health authorities.
“This mistake undermines trust in public health, even for me. I now trust it’s messaging much less. The vaccines were a godsend for older people,” he added.
“But the messaging for young adults continues to lack nuance, undermines trust in public health authorities, and harms young people.”
What is Pericarditis?
According to Mayo Clinic, Pericarditis is the swelling and irritation of the pericardium — a thin, sac-like tissue surrounding the heart.
The American Heart Association listed chest pain as the common symptom of Pericarditis which is usually caused by the sac’s layers becoming inflamed and possibly rubbing against the heart.
Among the factors responsible for Pericarditis are: viral, bacterial, and fungal. Other possible causes of pericarditis include heart attack or heart surgery, other medical conditions, injuries and medications.
Healthline also added tumours, radiation treatment autoimmune conditions, like lupus, metabolic disorders, gout kidney failure, and some genetic diseases (e.g. familial Mediterranean fever) as other causes of Pericarditis.
Meanwhile, this condition is said to clear away on its own and, in serious cases, might require medications.
Myocarditis
Myocarditis, on the other hand, is an inflammation of the heart muscle (myocardium). The condition weakens the heart muscle, making it more difficult for the human heart to pump.
Listed as one of the causes of myocarditis is SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). Others are flu, herpes, Adenovirus, Coxsackie virus, Parvovirus B19, bacteria, and Chagas disease.
The Myocarditis Foundation stated that although cardiovascular conditions are usually associated with elderly populations, myocarditis “can affect anyone, including young adults, children and infants. In fact, it most often affects otherwise healthy, young, athletic types with the high-risk population being those ages from puberty through their early 30s, affecting males twice as often as females”.
The condition is usually diagnosed with an Electrocardiogram which measures the electrical activity of the heart; a blood test; a chest X-Ray; an echocardiogram used to create an ultrasound image of the heart or analyze blood flow; cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan may be done to diagnose myocarditis among others.
Meanwhile, experts have said that myocarditis and pericarditis can occur simultaneously and have similar symptoms. This condition is known as myopericarditis.
COVID-19 vaccine, Pericarditis and Myocarditis: Dissecting the link
DUBAWA explored various academic and medical papers/journals discussing the connection between the COVID-19 vaccine and the two conditions.
An American College of Physicians research survey showed that myocarditis/pericarditis 0 to 7 days after mRNA vaccination occurred more frequently in males, particularly adolescents, after the second dose and first boosters.
Corroborating this, another study noted that the incidence of myocarditis might frequently occur in males aged 12-29 years and more likely with Moderna than with Pfizer mRNA vaccines. However, it noted that most cases of myocarditis are mild and self-limiting, but data on children and some severe cases are limited.
Another survey in the Annals of Medicine and Surgery confirmed that males are notably more likely to develop myocarditis and pericarditis following COVID-19 vaccination than females, with a rating of 85% vs 15%.
Meanwhile, the study noted that most patients had no significant history of COVID-19 infection or another cardiovascular disease.
“More prevalence of myocarditis and pericarditis among the patients who received Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) and Moderna (mRNA 1273) indicates that mRNA vaccines are associated with a higher risk of developing myocarditis than the viral vector vaccines like AstraZeneca and The Janssen/Johnson & Johnson,” the study added.
Further checks showed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had in April 2021 noted an increase in cases of myocarditis and pericarditis in the United States after the administration of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccination (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna).
According to the Center, this was reoccurring in adolescent and young adult males, from ”16 years and above, within seven days after receiving the second dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.” Still, such has not been recorded for Johnson and Johnson.
Despite the associated risks, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and CDC have evaluated that the benefits (such as prevention of COVID-19 cases and its severe outcomes) outweigh the risks of myocarditis and pericarditis after receipt of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
Also, the body noted that for most cases of myocarditis and pericarditis after vaccination with an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, patients who reported for medical care have responded well to medications with rest and had prompt improvement of symptoms.
The CDC had earlier announced that it is currently assessing long-term outcomes of myocarditis after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. ”Preliminary data from surveys conducted at least 90 days after the myocarditis diagnosis showed most patients were fully recovered from their myocarditis,” the body said.
Meanwhile, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) noted that incidents of myocarditis and pericarditis were higher following the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine compared to the record number of cases after the use of the Moderna vaccine as of November 23, 2022.
DUBAWA observed that more cases of myocarditis were recorded compared to pericarditis incidents. Meanwhile, some cases have been reported following the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but the figures were low compared to the cases that occurred after an mRNA vaccination.
