Timeline: COVID-19 Vaccines And Myocarditis

A timeline of COVID-19 vaccines and the progression of myocarditis is given below.

2020

Sept. 22, 2020: the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classified myocarditis as a potentially harmful adverse event.

Oct. 30, 2020: The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies myocarditis as an adverse event of particular interest.

December 2020: One instance of pericarditis was reported to the CDC and FDA-managed VAERS (U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System).

Dec. 11, 2020: The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was approved by the FDA for use in Americans 16 and older.

Dec. 13, 2020: The CDC introduces V-safe, a new method for tracking vaccination safety, but it omits myocarditis from its list of potential side effects.

Dec. 18, 2020: The FDA approves the Moderna vaccination for Americans aged 18 and older.

2021

January 2021: 28 occurrences of myocarditis, pericarditis, or myopericarditis were reported to VAERS.

January 2021: According to a report released months later, the first U.S. military soldier to have postvaccination myocarditis did so.

January 2021: First cases of post-vaccination myocarditis reported in Israel

January 2021: Processing of VAERS reports is delayed as a result of an unanticipated increase in reports.

February 2021: 64 instances of myocarditis, pericarditis, or myopericarditis were reported to VAERS, including two fatal cases.

Feb. 1, 2021: According to physicians, an Israeli youngster who had a Pfizer immunization was hospitalized with myocarditis.

March 2021: 54 myocarditis, pericarditis, or myopericarditis cases were reported to VAERS.

March 1, 2021: 2 post-vaccination instances were discovered in the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), another CDC-run system, according to CDC authorities’ disclosure (pdf).

March 2, 2021: The COVID-19 vaccination from Johnson & Johnson is advised for adults by the CDC.

March 3, 2021: Israeli authorities and hospital representatives meet, to examine cardiac issues following immunization.

March 4, 2021: Israeli authorities declare that they are looking into postvaccination pericarditis.

March 5, 2021: The FDA has a meeting with its advisors. Nothing is said about myocarditis.

March 6, 2021:  The first significant US university to declare a COVID-19 vaccination requirement is Rutgers University.

March 8, 2021: Australian health authorities inform the CDC about instances of myocarditis in the United States.

March 9, 2021: According to a U.S. internal letter, Israel has received about 40 instances of myocarditis following immunization. American officials admit problems with passive surveillance, such as underreporting, and claim that some post-vaccination cases have been documented in the country. The document concluded, “Therefore, FDA has not reached a final conclusion regarding the causality between myopericarditis and the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.”

March 20, 2021: The first case report of post-vaccination myocarditis is published in the literature.

April 2021:  There were 158 myocarditis, pericarditis, or myopericarditis cases reported to VAERS.

April 2021: The CDC has a number of open sessions but myocarditis is not brought up.

April 1, 2021: According to a news source, Israel has received 84 instances of myocarditis or pericarditis following immunization.

April 2, 2021:  U.S. military authorities and the CDC meet, to discuss incidents of postvaccination myocarditis.

April 5, 2021:  Israeli officials brief the CDC on cases of post-vaccination myocarditis.

April 5, 2021: Canada announces the first incidence of post-vaccination pericarditis.

According to Dr. Erick Eiting, vice chair of operations for emergency medicine at Mount Sinai Downtown in New York City, doctors are now struggling to differentiate between COVID-19, allergies, and the common cold.

April 7, 2021:  U.S. government alert covers myocarditis incidents reported in military personnel following immunization.

April 10, 2021: instances of post-vaccination myocarditis were assessed by the CDC-funded Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment program, according to an email.

April 12, 2021: U.S. military authorities brief the CDC on incidents of post-vaccination myocarditis.

April 12, 2021: Canada reports its first instance of post-vaccination.

June 2, 2021: Israel says “there is some probability for a possible link between the second vaccine dose and the onset of myocarditis among young men aged 16 to 30” after researchers find incidence of one in 3,000 to one in 6,000 men aged 16 to 24.

June 4, 2021: U.S. researchers report seven cases in healthy young males following Pfizer vaccination.

June 10, 2021: 99 cases of myocarditis/pericarditis detected in FDA’s Biologics Effectiveness and Safety Initiative database, and 1,260 cases reported in Medicare claims data, FDA official says (pdf).

June 10, 2021: CDC working to rapidly follow up on reports of myocarditis following vaccination among people aged 30 and under, CDC official says (pdf). Most cases are in young adults after a second dose.

June 10, 2021: “There’s a lack of alternative explanations” apart from vaccination given the consistency across postvaccination cases, Dr. Cody Meissner, an FDA adviser, says.

June 10, 2021: “I think the myocarditis is something that needs to be looked at closely because we’re likely seeing the tip of the iceberg,” says Dr. Michael Kurilla of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, another FDA adviser. June 10, 2021: Pfizer spokesperson tells news outlets that “the benefit-risk profile of our vaccine remains positive.”

July 9, 2021: After detecting 221 occurrences following mRNA immunization, the European Medicines Agency advises adding myocarditis and pericarditis as adverse events for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines . Five patients passed away.

July 10, 2021: South Korean researchers revealed the first documented fatality from vaccine-induced myocarditis, that of a 22-year-old male.

July 22, 2021: CDC reports 282 incidences of postvaccination myocarditis in persons between the ages of 18 and 29.

July 28, 2021: Pfizer informs the FDA of a “important identified risk” of myocarditis and pericarditis following immunization, and admits that 17 fatalities among the reported cases.

November 2021: 267 instances of myocarditis, pericarditis, or myopericarditis were reported to VAERS, including six fatal cases.

Nov. 1, 2021: Dr. Su writes in an email that “we’re all doing our part to build confidence” in COVID-19 vaccinations.

Nov. 1, 2021: According to English researchers, immunizing youngsters between the ages of 12 and 17 would likely result in 160 occurrences of myocarditis that will necessitate hospitalization while preventing 230 to 4,590 COVID-19 hospitalizations.

2022

Jan. 3, 2022: According to researchers, the death of a 57-year-old New Zealand lady who developed myocarditis after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine had non-vaccine causes of death ruled out.

Jan. 5, 2022:  According to a CDC official, 327 instances of myocarditis in minors between the ages of 12 and 15 were reported to VAERS, with some patients not known to have healed. Males aged 5 to 11 were projected to have rates of 4.3 per million second doses and 45.7 per million second doses, respectively, which were significantly greater than anticipated.

Jan. 5, 2022: According to a VSD researcher, more than a quarter of confirmed myocarditis patients aged 12 to 17 were hospitalized for at least four days. In the age range, there were excess instances of up to 70.8 in 21 days for per million second doses. During follow-up visits at least three months later, over half of the verified cases had new or worsening symptoms, and half had abnormal ECG values.