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Incidence of Myocarditis/Pericarditis Following mRNA COVID-19 Vaccination Among Children and Younger Adults in the United States – Annals of Internal Medicine

 From 14 December 2020 through 31 May 2022 (persons 18–39 years) and 20 August 2022 (persons 5–17 years), 320 potential cases of myocarditis/pericarditis were identified 1 to 98 days after 6 992 340 vaccine doses as part of primary series COVID-19 vaccination, with 224 (70%) verified. Of these, 137 (61%) occurred 0 to 7 days after vaccination; 18 were after the first dose (of 3 562 311 doses administered) and 119 were after the second dose (of 3 430 029 doses administered).

In all age groups, incidence per million doses 0 to 7 days after vaccination was numerically higher in male than in female persons and after dose 2, although confidence intervals were wide and overlapped across sex for some age groups. Incidence was highest for male adolescents ages 12 to 15 years and 16 to 17 years following dose 2.

From 24 September 2021 through 20 August 2022, 101 potential cases of myocarditis/pericarditis were identified 1 to 98 days after 1 848 723 first booster doses, with 77 (76%) verified with a median onset of 4.5 days after vaccination; 39 cases (51%) were verified in the first week versus 38 during the subsequent 13 weeks.

In all age groups, incidence 0 to 7 days after first booster was higher for male compared to female persons, with adolescent males having the highest incidence in 16- to 17-year-olds and in 12- to 15-year-olds. In adults for whom both vaccine products were available, post-booster incidence was higher in male than in female adults and higher in males aged 18 to 29 compared to males aged 30 to 39.

http://archive.today/2022.10.06-094825/https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M22-2274

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Up to one in 7,000 American teens suffered heart inflammation after their Covid vaccine, study suggests – DailyMail

Thousands of American teenagers may have suffered heart inflammation after getting a Covid jab, a study suggests.

Researchers found up to one in 7,000 boys aged 12 to 15 years old developed myocarditis after receiving the Pfizer vaccine.

The condition — which is mild for most but can cause a recurrent heart palpitation in rare cases — was most common after the second dose.

http://archive.today/2022.10.03-220645/https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11275889/Up-one-7-000-American-teens-suffered-heart-inflammation-Covid-vaccine.html

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Publications

Effectiveness of Adding a Mask Recommendation to Other Public Health Measures to Prevent SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Danish Mask Wearers – Annals of Internal Medicine

The recommendation to wear surgical masks to supplement other public health measures did not reduce the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate among wearers by more than 50% in a community with modest infection rates, some degree of social distancing, and uncommon general mask use. The data were compatible with lesser degrees of self-protection.

https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-6817

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Publications

Infection Fatality Ratios for COVID-19 Among Noninstitutionalized Persons 12 and Older: Results of a Random-Sample Prevalence Study – Annals of Internal Medicine

 Our random-sample study estimated 187 802 cumulative infections, to which 180 hospitalizations were added. The average age among all COVID-19 decedents was 76.9 years (SD, 13.1). The overall noninstitutionalized IFR was 0.26%. In order of magnitude, the demographic-stratified IFR varied most by age, race, ethnicity, and sex. Persons younger than 40 years had an IFR of 0.01%; those aged 60 or older had an IFR of 1.71%. Whites had an IFR of 0.18%; non-Whites had an IFR of 0.59%.

By using SARS-CoV-2 population prevalence data, we found that the risk for death among infected persons increased with age. Indiana’s IFR for noninstitutionalized persons older than 60 years is just below 2% (1 in 50). In comparison, the ratio is approximately 2.5 times greater than the estimated IFR for seasonal influenza, 0.8% (1 in 125), among those aged 65 years and older. Of note, the IFR for non-Whites is more than 3 times that for Whites, despite COVID-19 decedents in that group being 5.6 years younger on average.

https://web.archive.org/web/20201003112851/https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-5352

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Publications

Variation in False-Negative Rate of Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction–Based SARS-CoV-2 Tests by Time Since Exposure – Annals of Internal Medicine

However, new research from Johns Hopkins University (MD, USA) has found that the chance of these tests giving a false negative – stating no infection when the individual actually is infected – is greater than 1 in 5, at times being far higher. The study, which analyzed seven previously published studies that evaluated RT-PCR performance, calls into question the accuracy of the predictive value of such tests.

Biotechniques, 29 May 2020

https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-1495