The COVID-19 vaccine contributed to a marked increase in myocarditis
Commentary published in the Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association.
Norwegian version here.
The journal's podcast claims that the COVID-19 vaccine can cause myocarditis “in a few” young people, but that is wrong. It causes myocarditis in many, as shown in the French study referenced in the podcast comments, which was conducted among the 12-49 age group over three semesters: spring 2021, fall 2021, and spring 2022.
Vaccination began in the fall of 2021 for the group, and if we conservatively assume that the rate with at least one dose between July and October increased steadily to 90% and then remained constant, there will be an equal number of person-years among vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in the three semesters.
At the same time, the study shows that 36.0% more vaccinated with at least one dose vs. unvaccinated people developed myocarditis (Table 2), while the increase directly related to vaccination, i.e. cases registered within 30 days after injection, was 29.5% (based on the same assumption of equal number of person-years among vaccinated and unvaccinated people). Regardless of the calculation method, the increase in myocarditis among vaccinated people is large.
The increase related to infection, cases occurring within one week, was only 7.9%, but this is likely an underestimate, as it may be attributed to vaccination or neither vaccination nor infection. The basis for this assumption is research conducted before vaccination that shows no association between COVID-19 infection and myocarditis. Furthermore, the difference between the 36.0% increase in myocarditis in vaccinated individuals and the 29.5% increase directly related to vaccination suggests that the latter figure is underreported. That is, cases related to infection can be attributed to the vaccine.
COVID-19 vaccination, therefore, contributed to at least 78.9% of the increase in myocarditis, in line with figures from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health showing a 20.8% increase in the use of cardiac medication among young people from 2020 to 2024, but no increase between 2013 and 2020.
Myocarditis has a 40% mortality rate in the first 14 years and a 50-60% mortality rate “after five years”. Young people who refused the COVID-19 vaccine, therefore, made the best choice, and the French study reinforces that claim.