vegman wrote:openmind wrote:Just curious what everyone thinks about the myocarditis, especially in young men...
The question for unvaccinated males 12-17 is whether the probability-adjusted risk to self and others is higher from from remaining unvaccinated or from getting the Pfizer vaccine. The question for unvaccinated young males 18 and over is whether the risk is higher from getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine (less effective against Covid-19 but no rare cardiac issues) or from getting one of the mRNA vaccines. (There is no known risk to men from the J&J vaccine save relative inefficacy compared to the mRNA vaccines.)
As a vaccinated older man, I have not deeply looked into it. Unless additional relevant information comes out, it should also have no bearing on whether to get a booster if/when they are recommended; based on current information, I would definitely get one.
Today's Washington Post Coronavirus Updates newsletter, which I subscribe to, contains this: "The United States has administered about 300 million mRNA doses. Following those vaccinations there have been 1,226 reports of myocarditis, a rare heart condition in which the muscle is inflamed, according to data recently presented to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisers. The symptoms are mostly mild and predominantly affect teenagers and young men. Though there is a 'likely association' between the mRNA vaccines and myocarditis, federal officials say, the benefits of vaccination far outweigh these and any other risks. In fact, as one vaccine expert pointed out, covid-19 itself causes this heart condition far more frequently than vaccines do."
The email also says: "Fatigue, respiratory issues and other lingering symptoms of coronavirus infection, known as long covid, may have afflicted more than 2 million people in England, according to a study by Imperial College London and other U.K. researchers. Women, as well as people from low-income communities, are more likely to be susceptible. Long covid may be more widespread than thought, the research suggests."