Shots' Tie to Heart Issues Probed

"As U.S. health authorities expand use of the leading Covid-19 vaccines, researchers investigating heart-related risks linked to the shots are exploring several emerging theories, including one centered on the spike protein made in response to vaccination.

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.

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 heart muscle.

To find answers, some doctors and scientists are running tests in lab dishes and examining heart-tissue samples from people who developed myocarditis or pericarditis after getting vaccinated.

Myocarditis describes inflammation of the heart muscle, while pericarditis refers to inflammation of the sac surrounding the 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.

The risk is higher within seven days of the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, the Food and Drug Administration says. Most myocarditis cases in vaccinated people are relatively mild, and patients get better on their own or with minimal treatment, doctors say.

The CDC recommends that anyone 5 and older should get vaccinated, saying the benefits of preventing Covid-19 illness, hospitalizations and death far outweigh the risk of myocarditis, even in younger males.

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.

Some theories about the vaccines' link to myocarditis center on the spike protein on the surface of the coronavirus. The spike protein helps the virus gain entry into human cells to replicate. The mRNA vaccines are designed to cause the body to make a certain version of the spike protein, which then sets off an immune response.

Some doctors have theorized that improper injections of the vaccines may be contributing. The shots are supposed to be injected into the shoulder muscle. If the injection accidentally reaches a vein, it could lead to delivery of some of the vaccine to the heart through blood vessels."[1]

1.  U.S. News: Shots' Tie to Heart Issues Probed
Loftus, Peter.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 08 Nov 2021: A.3.