As more young people were vaccinated, health officials noticed reports of myocarditis in young people shortly after vaccination. Was it possible that mRNA vaccines whose benefits included protecting against the heart damage associated with COVID-19 could themselves cause cardiac injury?
New research by Yuyang Lei and colleagues published in the journal Circulation Research sheds new light on how the spike protein might play a critical role in the widespread damage caused by SARS-CoV2, and offers insight into treating the complications of COVID-19. Vaccine skeptics have seized on the study to cast doubt on the safety of vaccines. But a review of the study’s findings shows that the concerns raised by vaccine doubters are much ado about nothing.
A quick, accessible explanation of what mRNA is.
Since March 2020 many scientific studies and articles have helped shape our understanding of the pandemic. However, not all of these articles are peer-reviewed. While not perfect, the process of peer-review is one of the many ways to ensure the new information being shared is scientifically and ethically sound and in line with the scientific method. In this video, we briefly explain what peer review is and where it fits in the research process?
Many infectious diseases can cause persistent symptoms and complications after the infection itself has cleared. These can range from impaired memory that improves over weeks, to general weakness that improves over months, to chronic organ dysfunction. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), an infection caused by SARS-CoV2, also appears to carry a risk of post-infection symptoms, commonly called “Long COVID”.
SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is considered to be a respiratory virus. However, once inside the lungs, the virus can move throughout the body to cause widespread, systemic injury. Perhaps the most seriously affected system in COVID-19 is the cardiovascular system.
There have been questions whether humans will develop immunity against SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes the disease, COVID-19. This question is critical for vaccine developers. Recently, good news came from several immunologists around the world that once our bodies encounter the virus, a protective response to the virus can be achieved.
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had a glimmer of hope that maybe through this crisis, trust in science and the importance of scientific research would become indisputable. It felt like we would finally see an example of what a world without just one vaccine for a deadly infectious disease would look like. But the stories that the world chooses to focus on, and those that are shared across non-expert audiences, tell a different story.
Although COVID-19 is a respiratory illness, a new review of COVID-19 studies published in the journal PLoS One shows that cardiovascular complications are common in COVID-19 patients, which might increase the risk of death.
COVID-19 has thrown North American professional baseball a curveball. An outbreak among players for the Miami Marlins, that has spread to the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals, brings into question the infection control protocols touted by Major League Baseball. But perhaps more concerning is the report that Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez developed myocarditis as a result of COVID-19. Will myocarditis from COVID-19 be a strike out pitch for professional baseball?
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