CDC Issues New Guidance To Help Men Decrease Myocarditis Risk From COVID Vaccine
Michael Cantrell
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have stated that males who are between the ages of 12 to 39 can now extend their time between receiving the first and second doses of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in order to help reduce the risk of developing myocarditis.
The Washington Examiner reported, “The agency announced on Tuesday that male patients could receive the second shot eight weeks after the first, instead of waiting, as previously advised, three weeks in the case of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or four weeks in the case of the Moderna vaccine. The CDC urged men to take caution about myocarditis, the rare cardiac episode which causes inflammation of the heart muscle that can reduce the heart’s ability to pump and cause arrhythmias. While the risk exists, the top public health agency insists the condition is rare.”
“Some studies in adolescents (ages 12-17 years) and adults have shown the small risk of myocarditis associated with mRNA COVID-19 vaccines might be reduced, and peak antibody responses and vaccine effectiveness may be increased with an interval longer than 4 weeks,” the updated guidance went on to state.
Here’s more from the WE report:
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, its panel of vaccine experts, convened earlier this month to weigh the benefits and risks of widening the time interval between doses for the male 12-39 age group.
“Months late, but good to see this now as official guidance,” Dr. Walid Gellad, a professor of medicine from the University of Pittsburgh, who has also been outspoken on the issue, posted in a tweet. “8-week interval may be optimal for some people between covid vax dose 1 and 2, especially for young men.”
The ACIP panel disclosed last June that “data available to date suggest likely association of myocarditis with mRNA vaccination in adolescents and young adults.”
Thus far, the CDC has received over 1,861 unverified reports of myocarditis and 1,106 reports of pericarditis, a type of cardiac inflammation that causes irritation of the thin sac-like membrane surrounding the heart, in people who received either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. The bulk of those cases was reported after the second dose.
In a separate Israeli study measuring the instance of myocarditis in mRNA vaccine recipients, researchers concluded that of roughly 2.5 million vaccinated healthcare workers, only 10.69 cases per 100,000 occurred, primarily in men between the ages of 16 and 29. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in December 2021, found that a total of 76% of cases of myocarditis were described as mild and 22% as intermediate.
The original three-and four-week intervals, according to most medical professionals, are still being recommended for the vast majority of people, especially seniors and the 7 million folks who have fragile immune systems.
Up to this date in time, almost 65 percent of folks in the U.S. who are five and older have received both doses of the vaccine, while 45 percent of those who are 12 and older have received their booster shots.
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