Vaccine study: infection risk > vaccine risk
A new American Heart Association–linked analysis finds a transient myocarditis/pericarditis risk after mRNA COVID‑19 vaccination, but the risk of heart attack and other serious cardiovascular outcomes is significantly higher following COVID‑19 infection — overall vaccination reduced serious cardiovascular risks post‑infection (pharmacytimes.com). The WHO is actively collecting data ahead of May 2026 vaccine composition deliberations, signaling close monitoring of new safety and variant data (who.int).
Researchers from Georgia Southern University analyzed National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program records to construct two parallel case‑control cohorts (infection cohort n=70,282; vaccination cohort n=37,800) using a 90‑day exposure window to study acute myocardial infarction. (pharmacytimes.com) SARS‑CoV‑2 infection carried an adjusted odds ratio of 4.81 for MI (95% CI 2.90–7.98) within 90 days, while receipt of any COVID‑19 vaccine showed an adjusted OR of 1.11 (95% CI 0.73–1.67) and additional booster doses had an adjusted OR of 1.60 (95% CI 1.05–2.42). (pharmacytimes.com) U.S. regulators quantify post‑vaccine myocarditis/pericarditis rates for recent mRNA formulas at roughly 8 cases per million doses within 1–7 days overall and about 27 cases per million in males 12–24 years, based on commercial claims analyses used to update vaccine labeling. (fda.gov) An American Heart Association review of 155 studies reported that COVID‑19 and influenza infections can raise heart‑attack and stroke risk several‑fold in the weeks after illness, a body of evidence the AHA said informed its interpretation of infection‑linked cardiovascular risk. (aha.org) WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on COVID‑19 Vaccine Composition (TAG‑CO‑VAC) requested specific genetic, antigenic, immunogenicity and vaccine‑effectiveness data ahead of its May 2026 deliberations and listed priority sera and variants for analysis, including JN.1, KP.2, XEC, LP.8.1, NB.1.8.1, XFG and BA.3.2. (who.int) The Georgia Southern presentation used 2020–2022 data and was delivered at the AHA EPI|Lifestyle Scientific Sessions in Boston (March 2026), establishing that the study’s exposure window spans pre‑ and early‑Omicron circulation periods that WHO and manufacturers will consider when compiling immunologic and variant data for May deliberations. (pharmacytimes.com)
