Pulmonary Embolus reports in VAERS
On the heels of FDA paper released December 1, 2022. Reflective intro added April 4, 2023 (in italics)
April 4, 2023: Giving credit where it is due, Mr. Steven Kirsch, who gained notoriety as an IT entrepreneur prior to covid, has done a tremendous amount of work with analysis of covid vaccine safety since their rollout. He has a frequently emotional tone in his writing, which likely polarized his audience. Here, I perform analysis on an issue that Mr. Kirsch, among others, identified in early 2021.
Pulmonary embolus, a blood clot in the lung, was seldom reported on prior to 2021 in VAERS. Then, in late 2020 and early 2021, the number of reports exploded.
While the CDC has yet to publish any analysis on this, the Food and Drug Administration, using a different database, has finally issued a study, concluding what was present as a signal in VAERS by March 2021 - that mRNA vaccines are likely to increase the risk of blood clots.
Looking at the timeline of reports, it is reasonably clear that the “signal” appears in VAERS by March 2021.
Here is data on covid vaccines, which demonstrates equal number of male and female reports. There are a low number of reports in children and adolescents.
Overall, there are more covid vaccine pulmonary embolus reports within VAERS (over 3500) than myocarditis reports (less than 3000). The vast majority are linked to mRNA vaccines.
Formal recognition of myocarditis by the CDC occurred in mid 2021, while recognition of pulmonary embolus as a signal has yet to occur with the CDC, although the FDA recognized it in December 2022.
There are three distinctions between myocarditis and pulmonary embolus which may explain this difference in recognition. 1) age distribution - myocarditis cases are predominantly reported in adolescents and young adults, while pulmonary embolus cases are reported in older adults; 2) novelty of condition - myocarditis is a rare condition, while pulmonary embolus is more common; 3) early association of Astra-Zeneca vaccine with clotting disorders, which may have led to de-emphasis on mRNA -clotting concerns.
Covid policy critic/activist Steven Kirsch has an analysis here of the VAERS data, and highlights the puzzling fact (he is less diplomatic) that the CDC has lagged in recognizing this signal of harm.
The academic literature on mRNA vaccines and blood clots is considerably less in quantity than myocarditis literature. Nonetheless, here is a report from August 2021, recognizing the connection.