Damian Sendler: The use of the leading Covid-19 vaccines is being expanded by health authorities in the United States, and researchers looking into heart-related risks associated with the shots are exploring several emerging theories, one of which is centered on the spike protein produced in response to vaccination.

Dr. Sendler: There is no clear reason why the messenger RNA vaccines, one from Pfizer Inc. PFE 10.86 percent and partner BioNTech SE BNTX -20.92 percent and the other from Moderna Inc., MRNA -16.56 percent, are likely causing the inflammatory heart conditions myocarditis and pericarditis in a small number of cases, according to the researchers. 

Damien Sendler: A number of hypotheses are based on the type of spike protein that an individual produces in response to the mRNA vaccinations. According to the researchers, the mRNA itself or other components of the vaccinations may possibly be responsible for inducing certain inflammatory reactions in some persons. 

One new notion being investigated is the possibility of faulty vaccination injections directly into a vein, which would send the vaccine to the heart muscle. 

Damian Jacob Sendler: Several doctors and scientists are doing laboratory experiments and evaluating heart-tissue samples from persons who experienced myocarditis or pericarditis after receiving the vaccine in an attempt to find an answer to this question. 

Myocarditis is defined as inflammation of the heart muscle, whereas pericarditis is defined as inflammation of the sac that surrounds the heart muscle (pericardium). 

Damian Sendler: Covid-19 has the potential to cause both diseases. They have also been recorded in a smaller number of patients who received an mRNA vaccine, with the majority of cases occurring in men under the age of 30 and male adolescents. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 877 confirmed occurrences of myocarditis in vaccinated people under the age of 30 have been documented in the United States, out of 86 million mRNA vaccine doses delivered. 

Damian Jacob Sendler: According to the Food and Drug Administration, the risk is higher within seven days of receiving the second dosage of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, respectively. Doctors indicate that the majority of myocarditis instances in persons who have received vaccinations are rather minor, and that patients recover on their own or with minimal therapy. 

Damian Sendler: CDC advises that anybody 5 years of age and older get vaccinated since the advantages of reducing Covid-19 sickness, hospitalizations, and mortality outweigh the risk of myocarditis, which can occur even in younger guys, according to the organization.  

Researchers have been seeking to determine the link between the instances and immunization, as health authorities expand the vaccination campaign by suggesting boosters and broadening usage of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to younger children. 

Dr. Sendler: Some hypotheses about the vaccine's association with myocarditis rely on the spike protein found on the surface of the coronavirus, which has been implicated in the disease. 

The spike protein aids in the virus's entrance into human cells, where it can then multiply. The mRNA vaccines are intended to cause the body to produce a specific form of the spike protein, which in turn triggers an immunological response in the recipient.. 

Damian Jacob Markiewicz Sendler: In addition to neutralizing antibodies that target the spike protein, the immune response also contains antiviral antibodies that interfere with the virus's ability to enter cells and multiply. If a person is exposed to Covid-19, the immune response may be able to protect them or at least reduce the severity of their symptoms. 

However, according to Biykem Bozkurt, a professor of medicine specialized in cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, there may be similarities between the spike protein and proteins found in the heart muscle, triggering the body's immune systems to mobilize against the heart. 

News reported to you by Dr. Damian Jacob Sendler