COVID vaccines not linked to cardiac death in young people: CDC study

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study has found that mRNA vaccines for the COVID-19 virus are not linked to cardiac death in younger adults.

The study was conducted using Oregon death certificate data for people aged 16 to 30 who died from a heart condition between June 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2022. The study was done after cases of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, were reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.

Of the 40 people who died and had a COVID vaccine dose, three died within 100 days of receiving their vaccination. Two were because the person had an underlying illness, and one had an undetermined cause of death, the CDC said.

“The data do not support an association of COVID-19 vaccination with sudden cardiac death among previously healthy young persons,” the CDC said.

While the risk of dying due to myocarditis was higher for younger people in 2021, the CDC found that it remained an infrequent cause of death among the age group.

During the same time period, 30 Oregon residents in the same age group died from COVID, and only three of the people who died had received any sort of COVID vaccine.

The CDC said the report can’t exclude vaccine-related cardiac deaths after the 100-day mark, but “published data indicate that potential adverse effects associated with vaccinations tend to occur within 42 days of vaccine receipt.”

The study also noted that the small population size made it less likely to see a “rare event such as sudden cardiac death” among the age group.

The CDC maintains that a COVID vaccination is recommended for all people 6 months and older to prevent infection, complications and death.