COVID vaccine hesitancy linked to 'nocebo' side effects CIDRAP

Vaccine hesitancy about COVID-19 vaccines is a positive predictor of negative side effects with vaccination—an example of the "nocebo" effect—according to a study today in Scientific Reports.

Nocebo, a play on placebo, is a phenomenon in which people experience negative effects on health when they have negative views or expectations surrounding medical interventions.

Myocarditis from COVID-19 booster rare, but risk highest among teen boys, young men Cases of myocarditis – an inflammation of the heart muscle – following a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine are rare and typically mild, research from Israel shows. www.heart.org

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Study: Pfizer COVID pill showed no benefit in younger adults WASHINGTON (AP) — Pfizer's COVID-19 pill appears to provide little or no benefit for younger adults, while still reducing the risk of hospitalization and death for high-risk seniors, according to a large study published Wednesday. AP NEWS

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The researchers found that Paxlovid reduced hospitalizations among people 65 and older by roughly 75% when given shortly after infection. That’s consistent with earlier results used to authorize the drug in the U.S. and other nations.

https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciac501/6611845

Hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 during the Omicron wave benefited from a 4th vaccine shot--Israeli study

Waning vaccine-immunity and an increased incidence of COVID-19 during the Omicron outbreak led the Israeli Ministry of Health to recommend a fourth dose of BNT162b2 for high-risk individuals. This study assessed the effect of that dose for hospitalized patients with severe/critical, breakthrough COVID-19. ...

Among hospitalized patients with severe/critical breakthrough COVID-19, a recent fourth dose was associated with significant protection against mechanical ventilation or death, compared to three doses.