A study has found that inflammation in the heart after Covid vaccination was not due to the antibodies created by the jab, but was the result of a more generalized response involving immune cells and inflammation. Myocarditis is usually a mild inflammation of the heart tissue that can cause scarring but usually resolves within days. An increased incidence of myocarditis was seen primarily in men who were vaccinated with mRNA vaccines—specifically designed to elicit an immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), among males aged 12 to 17 years, approximately 22 to 36 per 100,000 experienced myocarditis within 21 days after receiving the second vaccine dose. For the study, scientists at Yale University conducted a detailed analysis of immune system responses in those rare cases of myocarditis in vaccinated individuals.
They identified the immune signature of these heart inflammation cases. “The immune systems of these individuals are reprogrammed a little bit and produce cytokine and cellular responses,” said Carrie Lucas, associate professor of immunobiology at Yale.
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The findings, published in the journal Science Immunology, rule out some theoretical causes of heart inflammation and suggest possible ways to reduce the incidence of the still-rare side effect of vaccination, say the authors.
Earlier research suggested that increasing the time between vaccination shots to four to eight weeks could reduce the risk of developing myocarditis.
Lucas noted that, according to the CDC’s findings, the risk of myocarditis is significantly higher in non-vaccinated individuals who contract the Covid-19 virus than in those who received the vaccine. He stressed that vaccination provides the best protection against disease related to COVID-19.
“I hope that this new knowledge will enable further optimization of mRNA vaccines, which, in addition to providing clear health benefits during pandemics, have tremendous potential to save lives in many future applications,” at the Yale School of said doctoral student Anees Bermada. Medicine.