Women under the age of 30 who have received a non-mRNA coronavirus vaccination are up to three times more at risk of sudden cardiac death, latest data has identified.
Females who have received an AstraZeneca and Novavax vaccination are 3.5 times more at risk of dying from a heart-related complication within three months of getting the jab, data collected by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed.
Researchers from the ONS have found that 11 young women died from a cardiac problem after being vaccinated with a non-mRNA jab.
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However, all of these women suffered from other health conditions which may have contributed to their death.
According to the scientists, men who have received a non-mRNA coronavirus vaccination do not face the same cardiac death risk as women.
In addition, cardiac death risk was not as high in those individuals vaccinated with Pfizer and Moderna jabs.
During the analysis, the team of researchers analysed the health data of people between the age of 12 and 29.
Previous studies have found a link between mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and myocarditis. Additionally, AstraZeneca jabs were found to increase the risk of life-threatening blood clots in people under the age of 40.
ONS statistician Vahé Nafilyan said: “We find no evidence the risk of cardiac or all cause death is increased in the weeks following vaccination with mRNA vaccines.
“We did find that young women given a non-mRNA Covid jab had a 3.52 times higher chance of cardiac death in the 12 weeks after.”
He added: “Vaccination with the main non-mRNA vaccine used in the UK was stopped for young people following safety concerns in April 2021. Most of the young people who received it would have been prioritised due to clinical vulnerability or being healthcare workers.
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“Therefore, these results cannot be generalised to the population as a whole. Whilst vaccination carries some risks, these need to be assessed in the light of its benefits.”
Prior research has found that coronavirus vaccines reduce an individual’s risk of being admitted to hospital and death in the overall population, particularly in adults who are older.
Paediatrics expert Professor Adam Finn said: “The ONS study has raised as many questions as answers.
“The findings are somewhat unexpected, as concerns about rare cardiac side-effects – specifically myocarditis and pericarditis – have hitherto been particularly associated with mRNA vaccine second doses in males especially when the dose interval was short, whereas the signal reported here is primarily in non-mRNA first doses in females.”
He added: “The data also showing the risk disappeared for the second dose was reassuring. The next and most pressing issue that needs to be addressed is to gather more detailed information on what the nature of the reported cardiac events actually was, as this would help us begin to understand what is really being seen in these figures and might help guide future policy and vaccine design.”
The UK Government have since withdrawn from ordering any further AstraZeneca vaccines which is based on advice from the JCVI.
These findings from the ONS have been published in the journal Nature.
