Almost as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic began, the ruling class waged a vigorous campaign against any measures that, in combating the virus, would interfere with its ability to accumulate profits.
The world’s governments soon decided on a strategy based solely on the vaccine, discarding other public health measures. This has now largely been replaced by a “let it go” policy, as even vaccines have become more difficult to access, for those populations that once had access to them in significant quantities.
In this Thursday, April 29, 2021, photo, Sherry Cross Child, a Canadian resident of Stand Off, Alberta, receives a COVID-19 vaccine at the Piegan-Carway border crossing near Babb, Mont. (AP Photo/Iris Samuels)
To justify this destructive course of action, information about the virus has been hidden or distorted and several pseudoscientific claims have been made to downplay the severity of the disease. This has created a fertile environment for retrograde anti-vaccine conceptions and conspiracy theories, openly supported by some of the most unhinged sections of the ruling class.
One of the arguments most frequently cited by “anti-vaccines” is the existence of some cases of people developing cardiovascular complications after vaccination, a tiny number of which resulted in tragic deaths of vaccinated individuals. They argue that the possibility of such complications justifies refusal of the vaccine, minimizing or denying its benefits in preventing COVID-19, a serious disease with a significant mortality rate and well-documented long-term, life-altering consequences. .
a study published in the magazine Nature Communications refutes this statement by analyzing the incidence of cardiovascular complications in a very large population of vaccinated individuals.
Research led by the universities of Cambridge, Bristol and Edinburgh, and enabled by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Data Science Center at Health Data Research UK, analyzed the de-identified health records of 46 million adults in England between December 8, 2020 and January 23, 2022.
The data scientists compared the incidence of cardiovascular disease after vaccination with the incidence before or without vaccination, during the first two years of the vaccination program. They specifically evaluated the incidence of cardiovascular and thrombotic events after the first, second, and booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines from December 2020 to January 2022. The vaccines studied include the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer’s BNT-162b2 and mRNA -1273 from Moderna) and the adenovirus-based vaccine ChAdOx1 (AstraZeneca).
The study used Cox regression models to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs), which compare the risk of cardiovascular events after vaccination with the risk before or in the absence of vaccination. Across all vaccine doses and types, the incidence of thrombotic events (e.g., blood clots) was lower after vaccination, for both arterial and venous events. The reduction was evident already after the first dose, with a 10 percent lower risk for arterial thrombotic events after administration of the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
An even more substantial reduction in cardiovascular events was observed after the second dose across all vaccine brands. For example, there was a 27 percent reduced risk for arterial thrombotic events after the second dose of AstraZeneca’s ChAdOx1 vaccine. The aHRs for other conditions such as pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis were also lower.
Similar trends were seen for booster doses, which helped maintain lower event rates compared to pre-vaccination levels. The study observed that the reduction in cardiovascular events was most pronounced in the weeks immediately after vaccination.
Both the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) and AstraZeneca’s adenovirus-based vaccine showed reductions in arterial and venous events. However, the magnitude of the risk reduction varied slightly by brand and dose, with mRNA vaccines showing slightly lower aHRs overall, particularly after booster doses.
Although reductions were still evident up to 24 weeks after vaccination, the degree of reduction decreased over time.
Previous research found that the incidence of rare cardiovascular complications is higher after some COVID-19 vaccines. This study supports these findings, but importantly it identified no new adverse cardiovascular conditions associated with COVID-19 vaccination and provides further reassurance that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks.
These rare complications fall into two categories: Vaccine-Induced Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia (VITT) with the AstraZeneca vaccine, and myocarditis and pericarditis with the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna).
VITT is a rare condition characterized by blood clots accompanied by low platelet counts. It can lead to serious complications, such as intracranial venous thrombosis (IVCT), which affects blood vessels in the brain. The study found a higher-than-normal incidence of VITT after the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, with the highest risk appearing within the first two weeks after vaccination.
No increased risk of VITT was observed after the second dose of ChAdOx1 or after any dose of the mRNA vaccines, indicating that the risk is predominantly associated with the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle, while pericarditis is an inflammation of the lining that surrounds the heart. Both conditions can cause chest pain, fatigue, and other cardiac symptoms, but they are often mild and resolve on their own. The elevated risk for both myocarditis and pericarditis was highest in the first week after vaccination for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, with the risk generally returning to baseline levels within four weeks after vaccination.
Although rare complications have been associated with COVID-19 vaccines, they were primarily linked to the first dose and generally occurred within the initial weeks after vaccination. The study emphasizes that these risks, although present, are outweighed by the broader protective benefits of vaccination against COVID-19 and its associated cardiovascular risks.
A major strength of the study is the significant number of people tested, which allowed researchers to evaluate the effects of the vaccines on a wide variety of demographics and clinical subgroups, such as age, sex, ethnicity, and underlying health conditions. The overall reduction in thrombotic events was observed in all subgroups, reinforcing the value of vaccines in preventing cardiovascular complications related to COVID-19.
The effects of the vaccines were particularly effective for older adults (over 40 years of age), for whom the risk of rare complications such as myocarditis was notably lower, while the benefits in terms of reducing cardiovascular events were even more pronounced.
Co-lead author Dr Samantha Ip, Research Associate at the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge, told Health Data Research UK: “This research further supports the large body of evidence on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccination, which has been shown to provide protection against severe COVID-19 and save millions of lives around the world.”
Professor William Whiteley, associate director of the BHF Data Science Center and professor of neurology and epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, added that the study “demonstrates the benefits of second doses and boosters, with fewer common cardiovascular events including heart attacks and strokes after vaccination, outweigh the very rare cardiovascular complications.”
The results show the enormous potential of the creative and productive forces of society. However, while vaccines are an important tool in the fight against the pandemic, they are not enough on their own. Without a policy of complete elimination of the virus through a comprehensive test, trace and quarantine regime, a vaccination program is nothing more than palliative care.
This can currently be seen with the UK’s autumn vaccine booster campaign. Firstly, the vast majority of people are no longer eligible for a free vaccine through the NHS and must pay privately for one. While the NHS is offering free vaccines to older and clinically vulnerable people, those available were designed for the KP variant or even older variants of the virus.
The XEC variant, which is currently leading a new surge in infections, is expected to become dominant. It’s not clear exactly how effective the current vaccines are against it, but experience indicates that they will not be as effective as against the variant for which they were designed. The virus’s ability to mutate and evade the protection conferred by vaccines or previous infections is greatly facilitated by the fact that COVID-19 has been allowed to roam unhindered through society after major mitigation measures were lifted for so long. back like March 2022.
(Article originally published in English on October 27, 2024)
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