FDA Finds mRNA COVID Vaccines May Cause Seizures in Toddlers

FDA researchers detected a safety signal for seizures in children ages 2-4 following mRNA COVID-19…

Children's Health Defense

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) detected a safety signal for seizures in young children following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination, according to a study published Wednesday in JAMA Network Open.

Researchers analyzing near-real-time monitoring data on vaccinated children identified this new safety signal in children ages 2-4 who received the original Pfizer vaccine (BNT162b2) and children ages 2-5 who received the original Moderna vaccine (mRNA-1273).

The researchers also identified a safety signal for myocarditis or pericarditis following the Pfizer vaccine in adolescents ages 12-17. That signal had been previously identified.

A preprint study published last month, also funded by the FDA, found children ages 2-5 who received the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine were 2.5 times more likely to have a febrile seizure within a day of being vaccinated than they were to have one between eight and 63 days following vaccination.

The authors of the preprint, who analyzed the same data as the authors of the new JAMA study, also found a higher risk of febrile seizures among children ages 2-4 on the first day following the Pfizer vaccine than in the 8-63 days following vaccination. However, that increased risk was not statistically significant, the researchers reported.

Meanwhile, a government-funded report released earlier this month confirmed a causal link between mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and myocarditis — but rejected a causal link between the vaccines and a host of other adverse effects. The committee reviewed studies on adverse events related to COVID-19 vaccines in children under 18 but said it found insufficient evidence to make conclusions specific to children…