Nat Commun.2024 Jul;15(1):6085.
Cohort study of cardiovascular safety of COVID-19 vaccine doses in 46 million UK adults
Cohort study of cardiovascular safety of different COVID-19 vaccination doses among 46 million adults in England.
PMID: 39085208
Abstract
The first dose of COVID-19 vaccine was associated with an overall reduction in cardiovascular events and, rarely, cardiovascular complications. Information on the effect of second and booster doses on cardiovascular disease is scarce. Using longitudinal health records of 45.7 million adults in England from December 2020 to January 2022, we compared the incidence of thrombotic and cardiovascular complications up to 26 weeks after the first, second, and booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine brands and combinations used in the UK vaccination program with the corresponding incidence rates before vaccination or without vaccination. The incidence of common arterial thrombotic events (mainly acute myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke) was generally low after each vaccine, brand, and combination. Similarly, the incidence of common venous thrombotic events (mainly pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis of the lower extremities) was low after vaccination. Vaccination was followed by a high incidence of previously reported rare adverse events: vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia after primary ChAdOx1 vaccination, and transient myocarditis and pericarditis after primary, secondary, and booster mRNA vaccines (BNT-162b2 and mRNA-1273). These findings support the widespread deployment of future COVID-19 vaccination programs.
The first dose of COVID-19 vaccines led to an overall reduction in cardiovascular events, and in rare cases, cardiovascular complications. There is less information about the effect of second and booster doses on cardiovascular diseases. Using longitudinal health records from 45.7 million adults in England between December 2020 and January 2022, our study compared the incidence of thrombotic and cardiovascular complications up to 26 weeks after first, second and booster doses of brands and combinations of COVID-19 vaccines used during the UK vaccination program with the incidence before or without the corresponding vaccination. The incidence of common arterial thrombotic events (mainly acute myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke) was generally lower after each vaccine dose, brand and combination. Similarly, the incidence of common venous thrombotic events, (mainly pulmonary embolism and lower limb deep venous thrombosis) was lower after vaccination. There was a higher incidence of previously reported rare harms after vaccination: vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia after first ChAdOx1 vaccination, and myocarditis and pericarditis after first, second and transiently after booster mRNA vaccination (BNT-162b2 and mRNA-1273). These findings support the wide uptake of future COVID-19 vaccination programs.
