Claims have been raised that during the administration of President Joe Biden, U.S. health authorities identified the possibility of myocarditis occurring after COVID-19 vaccinations but downplayed the risks and did not inform the public. Given that former President Biden personally promoted the safety of the vaccine, it is expected that he will find it difficult to avoid responsibility for concealing side effects.
◇Myocarditis risk published only on the website
On the 21st (local time), Senator Ron Johnson (Republican, Wisconsin) recently submitted a report to the U.S. Congress regarding allegations of the Biden administration concealing vaccine side effects. Senator Johnson held a congressional hearing on vaccine side effects during the pandemic, and earlier this year, he demanded the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provide COVID-19 vaccine safety data and communication records related to the pandemic. This report is based on 2,473 pages of records obtained by Senator Johnson from U.S. health authorities.
According to the report, HHS officials planned to distribute an official warning about myocarditis through the Health Alert Network (HAN) in 2021. The HAN is a primary means through which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shares critical health alerts with doctors, health authorities, and medical research institutes nationwide. However, CDC and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials decided to post clinical recommendations regarding myocarditis on the CDC website instead of warning about vaccine side effects through the HAN.
The British Daily Mail reported that "the draft of the CDC warning downplayed the risks by emphasizing the benefits of the vaccine over potential side effects." The Daily Mail also reported that the Biden administration instructed former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, who was the U.S. public health official during the COVID-19 pandemic, to state that "the likelihood of myocarditis is mild and often resolves without treatment."
◇Ignored reports from Israel
Evidence has surfaced in the report that U.S. health authorities ignored information received in February 2021 from the Israel Ministry of Health that "multiple cases of myocarditis have been reported following Pfizer vaccination, especially among the younger population." At that time, there was an increase in myocarditis cases among young men aged 16 to 30 in Israel after vaccination. In April of the same year, CDC officials discussed "safety signals" regarding the relationship between messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines and myocarditis, based on data from the Department of Defense and Israel, but did not take immediate warning actions for the public.
It has been revealed that CDC officials also communicated with vaccine manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer regarding the risks of myocarditis. Meeting notes obtained by Senator Johnson include a question from May 2021 asking, "Does the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) currently show signs of myocarditis and pericarditis?" and a response noting, "Yes, among those aged 16-17 and 18-24." More than 1,600 cases of myocarditis have been reported to VAERS in the U.S., with most occurring in young men aged 12-29 after receiving the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
The report stated that "the health authorities are supported by the taxes paid by the American people, so the information generated by those agencies is an asset of the American people and must be made fully and transparently available," emphasizing that "the Biden administration delayed warnings to the public about the risks of COVID-19 vaccines and the heart side effects associated with mRNA vaccines, which threatened public health."
The CDC has also partially acknowledged the correlation between COVID-19 vaccines and myocarditis. According to CNN, the CDC informed independent vaccine advisory committees last month that the COVID-19 vaccinations administered from 2020 to 2022 showed a statistically significant increase in myocarditis risk. However, these cases occurred rarely, and it stated, "Risks of myocarditis have not been observed in vaccines administered after 2022."
Recently, U.S. health authorities have begun the process of revising warnings related to heart diseases, such as myocarditis, for COVID-19 vaccines. The FDA is expected to require Pfizer and Moderna to attach new warning labels to their COVID-19 vaccines. Previously, warnings indicated the highest risk of heart disease among males aged 18-24 for the Moderna vaccine and 12-17 for the Pfizer vaccine. The new labels are expected to change to warning statements for males aged 16-25 for both vaccines.