Central finding #
Paper (Results): “Fourteen (0.02%) children reportedly received care at a hospital; information regarding reason for hospitalization was available for five children… one revealed hospitalization was reported in error.”
Paper (VAERS): 100 serious reports including troponin increased (15), chest pain (12), and 15 preliminary myocarditis reports; two deaths under review.
The MMWR’s pitch for the first pediatric Pfizer rollout is familiar reactogenicity, ~1% medical care, 14 hospitalizations softened by incomplete reasons / one “error,” and a VAERS section that names myocarditis and deaths—then reassures. The v-safe Results page never publishes parallel chest-pain or seizure counts.
Compared to the v-safe dataset (~43,640 dose-1 / 32,307 dose-2 rows; paper 42,504 / 29,899):
week-1 hospital count matches at 14, but ~11/14 lack a Hospitalisation preferred term
and GDIT splits Successful 8 / Unsuccessful 6. Post-dose:
Chest pain 193, Dyspnoea 118, Palpitations 36, Seizure 17—
unpublished on the v-safe Results page next to the VAERS myocarditis digression.
Full write-up: vsafe-analysis/mmwr/mm705152a1/anomalies_report.md.
A. Fourteen hospitalizations — soft disposition and under-coding #
Paper (Results): Fourteen hospital reports; reasons for five; all parents contacted; two VAERS; one hospitalization “reported in error.”
Reconstruction finds the same 14 week-1 Hospitalization checkbox registrants. Only about
three get Hospitalisation on a week-1 hospital row; ~11 do not—
even when coded for appendicitis, croup/asthma, sickle-cell crisis with chest pain, or dehydration.
GDIT: Successful 8 / Unsuccessful 6.
Why this matters: Soft “reasons for five / one error” language is memorable. Under-coding and failed follow-up rates are not.
Hospitalisation preferred terms elsewhere in the coding window (13 unique registrants).
B. Emergency visits in week 1 #
ER checkbox registrants (day 0–7): about 84 (table shows 60 illustrative rows). Context for acute care under the “~1% medical care” headline.
C. Chest pain / dyspnea / palpitations unpublished next to VAERS myocarditis #
Paper (VAERS): Serious reports include chest pain (12) and troponin increased (15); 15 preliminary myocarditis reports (11 meeting CDC definition).
Post-dose MedDRA: Chest pain 193, Dyspnoea 118, Palpitations 36, Unevaluable event 381. Free text includes temporary chest/heart pain, ER chest pain with EKG/x-ray, recurring chest pain/tachycardia, and new heart murmur with chest pain.
Why this matters: VAERS is allowed to surface myocarditis and troponin. The v-safe Results section never shows that active surveillance coded hundreds of cardiac-symptom preferred terms in the same rollout window.
Chest pain MedDRA sample (80 of 193; free-text prioritized).
Serious free-text narratives (sample).
D. Seizures unpublished next to VAERS serious seizure reports #
Paper (VAERS): “Among 12 serious reports of seizure…”
Post-dose v-safe: Seizure 17 + Febrile convulsion 3. Free text includes a first-time seizure ~33 hours after dose 1 and seizures the day after dose 2—never published on the v-safe Results page.
E. Deaths / myocarditis PTs in v-safe — none under post-dose coding #
No post-dose MedDRA Death, Myocarditis, Pericarditis, or Troponin increased through 31 January 2022. That does not contradict VAERS counts (different system). The v-safe gaps are chest-pain / seizure / hospital under-coding.
Summary #
- Under-coding: 14 week-1 hospitalizations match paper; ~11/14 lack Hospitalisation PT; GDIT Unsuccessful 6
- Reporting gap: Chest pain 193 / Dyspnoea 118 / Palpitations 36 unpublished next to VAERS myocarditis
- Reporting gap: Seizure 17 (+ febrile 3) unpublished next to VAERS “12 serious seizure reports”
- OK: cohort size and hospital count track; no Death/Myocarditis PT in post-dose v-safe window
Bottom line: Compared to the v-safe dataset, this brief gets everyday reactogenicity and the count of 14 week-1 hospitalizations right—but softens those cases while most lack a Hospitalisation preferred term, and leaves hundreds of chest-pain / dyspnea codes and dozens of seizure codes off the v-safe Results page beside a VAERS-only myocarditis and seizure discussion.