The OpenSAFELY Myocarditis Study
Why are anti-vaccine influencers excited about the “new” OpenSAFELY myocarditis study?
Because they think it shows that COVID vaccines are more dangerous than a natural COVID infection.
The OpenSAFELY Myocarditis Study
Of course, the study found no such thing!
“All pericarditis and myocarditis events occurred in the first dose group, while all COVID-19-related critical care admissions were in the unvaccinated group.”
OpenSAFELY: Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccination in Children and Adolescents
For one thing, the study found that getting a COVID vaccine kept you out of the ICU!
That seems like a nice benefit, doesn’t it?
Those who were unvaccinated were also:
much more likely to get COVID
much more likely to go to the emergency department with COVID
much more likely to be hospitalized with COVID
And again, in case you missed it, these kids were much more likely to end up in the ICU with COVID if they weren’t vaccinated!
What else did the study find?
The study did find, and this is the only thing that anti-vaccine influencers seem to be focusing on, that some of those who were vaccinated did develop either pericarditis or myocarditis, a known adverse effect of COVID vaccines.
“Half or fewer (in order to comply with statistical disclosure control obligations and minimize the risk of reidentification of individuals, we do not report rates at higher precision) of adolescents diagnosed with pericarditis were admitted to hospital, and half or fewer attended A&E. More than half of adolescents with myocarditis were admitted to hospital, and more than half attended A&E. The maximum length of critical care admission was 1 day for either event. The maximum length of hospitalization stay was 0 days for pericarditis and 2 days for myocarditis. There were no deaths after these events.”
OpenSAFELY: Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccination in Children and Adolescents
And they did not find any cases of either pericarditis or myocarditis in those who were unvaccinated.
But wait, isn’t myocarditis supposed to be more common from a natural COVID infection?
It is…
So why didn’t this study show that?
Mostly, because that’s not what this observational study was looking for…
“Data scientist Colm Andrews, from the University of Oxford’s Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science, said the study didn’t look specifically at myocarditis and pericarditis following infection.
It focused on safety events reported after vaccination, comparing outcomes between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups of children and adolescents.
“We did not specifically look at safety events after infection ... partly because infection ascertainment, unlike vaccination, is not especially reliable in routinely-collected data (many people are infected without there being any record of it),” Mr Andrews told AAP FactCheck.”
COVID study misrepresented in misleading heart inflammation claim
In fact, the researchers who conducted the study even went on record last year to correct those who were misrepresenting their study!
“What’s getting picked up by folks trying to discredit the safety of vaccines is that this is a MAJOR SAFETY SIGNAL that indicates that the vaccines are causing cardiac issues in our kids. That’s quite a claim considering that the absolute risk is extremely low, affecting only about 0.003% of vaccinated individuals. To put this in perspective, you're about 333 times more likely to be injured in a car accident in any given year than to experience myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination based on this study's findings.”
Heart Damage Only in Vaxxed Kids? Unpacking Viral Claims
And now, anti-vaccines influencers are at it again.
“The overall risk of myocarditis – inflammation of the heart muscle – is substantially higher immediately after being infected with COVID-19 than it is in the weeks following vaccination for the coronavirus, a large new study in England shows.”
COVID-19 infection poses higher risk for myocarditis than vaccines
Not surprisingly, they are still missing the simple fact that the benefits of getting a COVID vaccine still outweigh this rare risk of myocarditis.
“The risk of developing myocarditis — or inflammation of the heart muscle — is seven times higher with a COVID-19 infection than with the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a recent study by Penn State College of Medicine, scientists.”
Myocarditis seven times more likely with COVID-19 than vaccines
So if you are truly worried about myocarditis, then you should make sure that you are vaccinated and protected against COVID, especially if COVID starts to surge again!
“After bivalent (two-strain) vaccines in 2022-23, the myocarditis rate in 12- to 39-year-olds fell to approximately two per million doses. With the 2023-24 formulations, it was about five per million. With the 2024-25 formulations, approximately two per million.”
CIDRAP Op-Ed: The COVID vaccine myocarditis signal was real but is now resolved. ACIP’s March agenda pretends otherwise.
Also know that the safety signal for myocarditis has essentially disappeared with latest versions of the COVID vaccines!
That’s right, the current rate of two per million is the same as the background rate - or how many people are expected to get myocarditis.
Maybe that’s why these folks are resurrecting old studies to try to scare you away from getting vaccinated…
More on COVID Vaccines and Myocarditis
Did Tom Shimabukuro Say COVID Vaccines Were Causing Debilitating Illnesses?
The CDC Did Not Redact Every Single Word of a 148-Page Myocarditis Study
OpenSAFELY: Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccination in Children and Adolescents
COVID-19 infection poses higher risk for myocarditis than vaccines
Myocarditis seven times more likely with COVID-19 than vaccines
Study did not find millions of children with post-vaccine heart defects
COVID study misrepresented in misleading heart inflammation claim
Benefits of COVID-19 Vaccination Outweigh the Rare Risk of Myocarditis, Even in Young Males