Australia Ceases Reporting Cases of Myocarditis Post-COVID Vaccination

A 14-year-old girl gets a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Hartford, Conn., on May 13, 2021. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Australia’s therapeutic goods administration (TGA) has announced that reports on myocarditis and pericarditis cases following mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna are not necessary anymore and will no longer be provided.

Australia’s national drug authority says this is because the rates have stabilised.

However, the TGA will “continue to monitor and review these adverse effects and will communicate any updated safety advice if needed,” they said in a statement.

Both myocarditis (inflammation of the heart) and pericarditis (inflammation of the membrane around the heart) are considered side effects of mRNA vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent committee of vaccine experts has also found a link between heart inflammation and the mRNA vaccines after over 1,200 cases of heart inflammation were reported in people post-vaccination.

In Australia, the total number of pericarditis cases resulting from a COVID-19 vaccine is 3,823, with six resulting in death, based on the administration’s Database of Adverse Event Notifications (DAEN) as of July 17.

There have been 1,330 cases of myocarditis to date, with 17 resulting in death.

For COVID-19 vaccines, the TGA reports 3,823 cases of pericarditis, with six resulting in death, and 1,330 cases of myocarditis, with 17 resulting in fatalities. Screenshot/DAEN

Cardiac Deaths On the Rise in Australia

The decision to stop reporting the deaths comes as the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) noted that deaths due to cardiac conditions that were not associated with ischaemic heart disease were 19.8 percent above the baseline average in March 2023.

However, they were 0.8 percent lower than in March 2022.

Additionally, other cardiac deaths from January to March 2023 were 17.5 percent higher than the baseline average and 1.9 percent higher than the same period in 2022.

‘The age-standardised death rate for deaths due to other cardiac conditions was 2.1 per 100,000 people in March 2023. This compares to a baseline average rate of 2.0 and a rate of 2.2 in March 2022,” the ABS said.

Myocarditis and mRNA Vaccines

The Spikevax (Moderna) came under close scrutiny by European countries after studies found an increased incidence of myocarditis or pericarditis after a second dose of the mRNA vaccines among adolescent and young adult males.

Soon after, Sweden and other Nordic countries, including Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Iceland, restricted the use of Moderna’s shots for young people.

Canada has also identified a higher risk, with the nation’s public health agency raising concerns that cases appear to occur the most frequently amongst:

• adolescent and young adults
• males
• following a second dose
• typically occurring within seven days after vaccination.

A vial of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine rests on a table at a clinic in Puyallup, Wash., on March 4, 2021. Ted S. Warren/AP Photo

Despite overseas data and responses, Moderna is still approved for those aged six years and over in Australia, with the TGA saying that the protective benefits far outweigh the potential risks.

The latest information from the Australian Health Department is that:

“The benefits of vaccination with Moderna greatly outweigh the risk of side effects. Very large clinical trials have shown that Moderna is effective in preventing and protecting against serious illness from COVID-19 in people aged 12 years and older.

Adults who had two doses of Moderna were about 94 percent less likely to become ill from COVID-19 than people who did not get the vaccine.

The vaccine was also effective in people aged 65 years and in adolescents aged 12 to 17 years.”

To July 9, 2023, more than five million doses of Moderna have been administered in Australia.

According to the DAEN website, in Australia, there have been 7,834 reported adverse reactions to Moderna’s different vaccines, while 7,452 were tied to the vaccine. Additionally, 38 people have died from adverse reactions to the Moderna Spikevax vaccines.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Moderna for comment on the issue.

As of July 17, there have been a total of 138,912 reported adverse reactions to all COVID-19 vaccines in Australia since 2020; of those, 135,323 were attributed solely to the vaccines, and there have been 995 reported deaths.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), which advises the government on vaccines, has changed its advice around the shots, with healthy Australians aged 18-64 now told they may choose whether or not to get a COVID-19 booster vaccine if they have received an original dose.

Australians who are 18-64 and have medical comorbidities that increase their risk of severe COVID-19 or disability with significant or complex health needs are recommended to have a booster dose, as are those aged 5-17 who have complex medical conditions.

However, ATAGI does not recommend any healthy child aged 5-17 receive a booster dose.