Heart muscle inflammation from BioNTech vaccine? Numbers from Israel are cause for concern

Are There Serious Side Effects With The BioNTech Vaccine?

Research from Israel suggests this.

However, experts still recommend vaccination.

Munich - The vaccination campaign in Germany is continuing and the corona numbers are falling.

But vaccines are repeatedly suspected of having severe side effects on the vaccinated - Astrazeneca in particular has a bad reputation for this.

Now, however, there is speculation about a possible connection between the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine and myocarditis - based on a study from Israel.

Israel continues to vaccinate with BioNTech: "The benefits outweigh the risks"

In the Middle East country, long considered the world leader in vaccination campaigns (around 55 percent of the population is vaccinated), 275 cases of myocarditis - an inflammation of the heart muscle in men between 16 and 30 - occurred among the five million people vaccinated, according to the Ministry of Health Years.

The investigation suggests that this is related to the second dose of BioNTech.

The inflammation is said to occur particularly frequently in 16 to 19 year olds.

Nevertheless, the country wants to allow 12 to 15 year olds to be vaccinated.

"The benefits outweigh the risks," said Israeli pandemic control coordinator Nachman Asch to radio station

103 FM.

Corona: Pfizer sees "no causal connection" between vaccine and myocarditis

Pfizer commented on the suspicion and said it knew the findings.

However, no causal connection was established.

The rate of heart muscle inflammation is to be expected in the population.

"It is still unclear whether the cases that occurred in connection with the vaccination are exactly the same form of the disease as after virus infections," said cardiologist Dirk Westermann from the University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf to

Der Spiegel

.

Westermann advises all age groups, after weighing the known risks, to vaccinate with the agent from Biontech / Pfizer.

The cardiologist took a close look at the numbers from Israel.

"They suggest that the vaccination from Biontech / Pfizer also increases the number of cases in the young age group, at least in men," says the expert, who also says: "Myocarditis usually affects young people anyway."

Coronavirus: heart muscle inflammation caused by BioNTech?

In Germany "no risk signal to be seen"

And how is it in Germany?

According to the Paul Ehrlich Institute, “based on the data available from Germany, there is currently no risk signal to be seen”.

Westermann also advises vaccination with BioNTech / Pfizer: "It is very unlikely that you will get seriously ill with Covid-19," said Westermann. In rare cases, however, they developed long covid, which are symptoms that persist for a long time after an infection. "Especially those who are concerned about rare side effects should get vaccinated," says Westermann.

Douglas Diekema, pediatrician and risk assessment specialist at Seattle Children's Hospital, is in the same direction in

Science

. If there really is a connection between myocarditis and the vaccine, the disease is usually mild and easily treatable with anti-inflammatory drugs. On the other hand, a Covid 19 infection could also cause serious illnesses and long-term side effects in young people.

(cg)