There is much to suggest that Covid-19 has become endemic. Most people in Germany now have a certain level of immunity. But Covid-19 disease can be severe and even fatal, especially in older people and people with underlying illnesses. An annual booster vaccination is recommended for them in particular.
Inflammation of myocardium caused by COVID-19 vaccination?
Whether the corona vaccination can lead to inflammation of the heart muscle, medically myocarditis, has Doctors from the University of Hong Kong examined it. The researchers found that young males are primarily affected. Most became ill after the second vaccination and at higher vaccine doses.
For genetic reasons, the risk of myocarditis as a side effect of the COVID-19 vaccination is higher in the Chinese population than in the European population, say the scientists. But overall, myocarditis was very rare: in Hong Kong, 18.2 young people out of 100,000 vaccinated people became ill, in the USA only 4.06 out of 100,000.
Swedish researchers have analyzed the risk of several cardiovascular diseases, including myocarditis and pericarditis. Your study confirmed that the risk of this is temporarily increased one to two weeks after an mRNA vaccination against COVID-19. But overall, the study authors said, full vaccination significantly reduces the risk of several serious cardiovascular consequences of Covid-19, such as heart attack, stroke and heart failure.
What the vaccination commission in Germany recommends
In Germany, there is a suspicion of a risk of myocarditis in young men up to 29, especially after the second vaccination with the Spikevax vaccine from Moderna. The Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) therefore recommends the Comirnaty vaccine from BioNTech for people aged 12 to under 30.
In children under 12, however, there has not been a single case of myocarditis following a Covid-19 vaccination, which is why all vaccines can be used for this age group. In general, there is no vaccination recommendation for healthy young people because the disease is usually mild in this age group.
Vaccine development: what happens next?
The corona virus is constantly changing. The virus variant Omicron JN.1 and its sub-lines KP.2 and KP.3 are currently circulating. The adapted vaccine “Comirnaty Omicron JN.1” has been available since August. The Hannover Medical School has scientifically proven its effectiveness. Approval for adapted Covid-19 vaccines no longer needs to be renewed annually in Germany: The EU Commission has granted standard approvals for the vaccines Comirnaty, Spikevax and Nuvaxovid, among others.
However, virologist Ulrike Protzer tells the Science Media Center that it is problematic that the vaccines are only adapted to new virus variants when they are already circulating. It is not yet possible to predict how the virus will develop further. Protzer therefore advocates developing a broadly effective vaccine that covers other coronaviruses in addition to SARS-CoV-2.
Are there combination vaccines for flu and corona?
The companies BioNTech and Pfizer are particularly advanced in research. They are currently testing a new vaccine consisting of an mRNA-based flu vaccine and the approved COVID-19 vaccine. It is said to protect against several respiratory diseases.
So far, however, the vaccine has not worked as well as hoped: although it protects very well against COVID-19 and influenza A, it does not protect as well against influenza B. Other vaccine developers such as Novavax and Moderna are also working on a combination vaccine.
What is special about mRNA vaccines?
Scientists have been researching the messenger mRNA for decades. Their goal is a cure for cancer. It was only thanks to this basic research that the vaccines against COVID-19 could be developed in such a short time. The mRNA vaccines contain the blueprint for a specific component of the corona virus, more precisely the instructions for the spike protein that covers the surface of the virus like spines.
The vaccine is injected into the muscle, the body’s cells absorb the mRNA, read the blueprint and produce the spike protein. The immune system is activated and produces antibodies against the spike protein. In the future, mRNA vaccines could be used as individualized cancer immunotherapy.
