Myocarditis after BNT162b2 Vaccination in Israeli Adolescents [Letter to the Editor - The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), March 2022]

Title:

Myocarditis after BNT162b2 Vaccination in Israeli Adolescents

 

Authors:

Dror Mevorach, Emilia Anis, Tal Hasin, Michal Bromberg [et al]

 

Published:

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), 10 March 2022

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2116999

[Published as a Letter to the Editor]

 

From the Letter to the Editor:

Using an active nationwide surveillance system administered by the Israeli Ministry of Health, we previously found a higher incidence of myocarditis among persons 16 years of age or older who had received the BNT162b2 vaccine (Pfizer–BioNTech) than among historical controls and unvaccinated persons; the incidence was highest among young male recipients.

World Health Organization (WHO) Guidance Document - Digital documentation of COVID-19 certificates: vaccination status

Title:

Digital documentation of COVID-19 certificates: vaccination status: web annex A: DDCC:VS core data dictionary, 27 August 2021

 

Published:

World Health Organization, 27 August 2021

https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-Digital_certificates-vaccination-data_dictionary-2021.1

 

Overview:

This is a guidance document for countries and implementing partners on the technical requirements for developing digital information systems for issuing standards-based interoperable digital certificates for COVID-19 vaccination status, and considerations for implementation of such systems, for the purposes of continuity of care, and proof of vaccination. 

 

Fact check: COVID-19 vaccine not associated with neurodegenerative disease [USAToday, 4 April 2021]

Title:

Fact check: COVID-19 vaccine not associated with neurodegenerative disease

 

Author:

Miriam Fauzia

 

Published:

USAToday (via Yahoo!), 4 April 2021

https://autos.yahoo.com/fact-check-covid-19-vaccine-025540856.html

From the article: 

* The claim: COVID-19 vaccines are associated with prion disease 

 

* With the COVID-19 vaccine rollout advancing at about 2.77 million average doses administered a day – a steady increase since vaccinations began in late December – a supposed research paper is rousing fear about the vaccine's safety on social media.

 

* The source behind Cox's bold claim is a paper titled "COVID-19 RNA Based Vaccines and the Risk of Prion Disease," written by J. Bart Classen.

 

* Contrary to Classen's claim, there is no evidence to suggest the COVID-19 vaccines can cause prion diseases or other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.

COVID-19 RNA Based Vaccines and the Risk of Prion Disease (by J. Bart Classen) - [Scholarly Article - Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, 2021]

Title:

COVID-19 RNA based vaccines and the riks of prion disease

 

Author:

J. Bart Classen, MD

Classen Immunotherapies, inc, Manchester

 

Published:

Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, 5(1), pp. 1-3 (Received: 27 December 2020; Accepted: 18 January 2021) 

https://scivisionpub.com/pdfs/covid19-rna-based-vaccines-and-the-risk-of-prion-disease-1503.pdf

Abstract:

Development of new vaccine technology has been plagued with problems in the past. The current RNA based SARSCoV-2 vaccines were approved in the US using an emergency order without extensive long term safety testing. In this paper the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was evaluated for the potential to induce prion-based disease in vaccine recipients. The RNA sequence of the vaccine as well as the spike protein target interaction were analyzed for the potential to convert intracellular RNA binding proteins TAR DNA binding protein (TDP-43) and Fused in Sarcoma (FUS) into their pathologic prion conformations. The results indicate that the vaccine RNA has specific sequences that may induce TDP-43 and FUS to fold into their pathologic prion confirmations. In the current analysis a total of sixteen UG tandem repeats (ΨGΨG) were identified and additional UG (ΨG) rich sequences were identified. Two GGΨA sequences were found. Potential G Quadruplex sequences are possibly present but a more sophisticated computer program is needed to verify these. Furthermore, the spike protein, created by the translation of the vaccine RNA, binds angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a zinc containing enzyme. This interaction has the potential to increase intracellular zinc. Zinc ions have been shown to cause the transformation of TDP-43 to its pathologic prion configuration. The folding of TDP-43 and FUS into their pathologic prion confirmations is known to cause ALS, front temporal lobar degeneration, Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological degenerative diseases. The enclosed finding as well as additional potential risks leads the author to believe that regulatory approval of the RNA based vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 was premature and that the vaccine may cause much more harm than benefit. 

World Health Organization (22 May 2020) - Draft landscape of COVID-19 candidate vaccines

Title:
Draft landscape of COVID-19 candidate vaccines

WHO Team:
R&D Blueprint

Published:
World Health Organization (WHO), 22 May 2020
https://www.who.int/who-documents-detail/draft-landscape-of-covid-19-candidate-vaccines

From the overview:
"These landscape documents have been prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) for information purposes only concerning the 2019-2020 global of the novel coronavirus. Inclusion of any particular product or entity in any of these landscape documents does not constitute, and shall not be deemed or construed as, any approval or endorsement by WHO of such product or entity (or any of its businesses or activities). While WHO takes reasonable steps to verify the accuracy of the information presented in these landscape documents, WHO does not make any (and hereby disclaims all) representations and warranties regarding the accuracy, completeness, fitness for a particular purpose (including any of the aforementioned purposes), quality, safety, efficacy, merchantability and/or non-infringement of any information provided in these landscape documents and/or of any of the products referenced therein."