Comparing BioNTech Vaccine Side Effects with the Complications of Covid-19 Infection

Since 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus–2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a shared problem worldwide. Interest has focused on the vaccine developed against it and recently granted approval by the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration), namely the mRNA vaccine, the only approved Covid-19 vaccine type, its degree of safety and its side effects. To address some questions on this subject, a study published on August 25 in NEJM compared the side effects of the product made by BioNTech, namely the BNT162b2 vaccine, with the complications that may occur after infection with SARS-CoV-2. In other words, which poses a greater risk: vaccine side effects or complications of Covid-19?

From Israel, more than 1.7 million participants were included in this research, in which safety data for the BNT162b2 vaccine were analyzed in detail.

Infection with SARS-CoV-2 or Protection with an mRNA Vaccine (BioNTech)?

For each adverse event specified in the study, people who had not previously been diagnosed with that event were selected. Vaccinated people were also matched with unvaccinated people according to clinical variables. The same adverse events were analyzed separately for vaccination and infection with SARS-CoV-2.

The Risk of Myocarditis (Inflammation of the Heart Muscle) from Infection Is 6 Times Greater than from Vaccination

The adverse events observed in every 100 thousand vaccinated people and their risk ratios were as follows:

• Myocarditis = 3.24 people per 100 thousand
• Lymphadenopathy = 2.43
• Appendicitis = 1.40
• Herpes zoster infection = 1.43

Some adverse events that increased significantly following SARS-CoV-2 infection were:

• Myocarditis = 18.28 people per 100 thousand
• Pericarditis (inflammation of the heart’s lining) = 5.39
• Arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) = 3.83
• Deep vein thrombosis (venous blockage) = 3.78
• Pulmonary embolism = 12.14
• Heart attack = 4.47
• Intracranial (within the brain) bleeding = 6.89

The risks of various adverse events after vaccination or SARS-CoV-2 infection can be seen below

Explanation of the graph: Point estimates of risk differences for selected adverse events are shown. Estimates were obtained 42 days after vaccination or SARS-CoV-2 infection using the Kaplan–Meier estimator. Risk differences are shown per 100,000 people and rounded to the nearest whole number. Negative differences (decreased risk) are shown as negative values on the y-axis, and positive differences (increased risk) as positive values on the y-axis.

Most of the BioNTech Covid-19 mRNA vaccine side effects examined do not appear to occur at a high frequency. Myocarditis, the vaccine-associated adverse event with the highest risk, appears to occur in 1 to 5 people per 100,000. However, risk ratios for myocarditis and other adverse events increased significantly following SARS-CoV-2 infection.

In conclusion, having Covid-19 causes a much greater number and variety of problems than vaccination—indeed, incomparably more.