We’ve waited so long and really needed a win sounded more like the author's frustration at not being able to get her daughters vaccinated. I could have misread the sentiment considering the author is an epidemiologist.
But still, I find the idea of vaccinating children when they are unlikely to benefit from it uncomfortable.
> And, critically, at a smaller rate than get seriously ill from the vaccine itself.
Is this actually true? The rate of serious reactions to COVID vaccines seems to be almost astronomically small. There have been hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses given in the US at this point and something like a few thousand total reports of significant adverse effects. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/ad... The main concern appears to be anaphylaxis, at 2-5 cases in a million.
I'm having trouble finding stats about children under 5, but I did find a CDC publication that indicates a hospitalization rate of 4.2 per 100000 population as of July for ages 2-4, and 24.8 per 100k for children <2. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932e3.htm COVID seems higher risk than the vaccine even in this population. (Which is not to say the risk is particularly high in this population.)
It’s late and I can’t find a source for this right now (so this comment is basically useless and admittedly irresponsible to even post) but I read recently 15 / 100k myocarditis from the vaccine (Moderna I think?). That stat was probably for a higher dose than they tested with children though.
Multiple governments have paused Moderna for < 29 which I presume means they determined the individual risk/benefit was imbalanced for that cohort.
Here’s a source for myocarditis numbers [0] but without any data for < 12. It looks like my recollection was a bit high (if you trust CDC). This suggests highest risk is males 16-24, after second (!) Moderna dose 38.5 per million, so 3.85 per 100k. It uses a small sample size though.
> What does it mean to have “mild” swelling of the heart?
Not being a medical specialist, I would assume mild means that hospitalization isn’t necessary and it’s probably treated with anti inflammatory drugs.
> Do those cells heal back as they were before?
Who knows? Probably, but that’s why they’re studying it. Another relevant question is whether myocarditis from COVID is worse or has longer term effects. And is someone more likely to get n myocarditis from the vaccine or from remaining unvaccinated
The hypothesis is that the spike protein is causing the myocarditis. One would assume that the same spike protein in a live virus that proliferates in much higher quantities (since the mRNA version cannot replicate) would be much more damaging. Additionally, a small genetic change has been made to the spike protein code in the mRNA code to make it even less dangerous. So I would say the chances are very good that the myocarditis from COVID is both more common and more severe.
