Ponchatoula officer’s death reignites vaccine fears
Within days of researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launching a new investigation into possible links between heart inflammation and the COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, a healthy 44-year-old Ponchatoula Police Officer has died from heart complications.
Ponchatoula Police Chief Bry Layrisson said Wednesday that autopsy results on a Ponchatoula police officer who died while on duty Tuesday showed blockage in one of her arteries.
Although investigators do not suspect foul play in this case, several Bayou Justice readers have contacted me, asking if the officer’s death could be vaccine or COVID-19-related.
Chief Layrisson cited heart complications as a factor in Corporal Pricilla Dean Pierson’s death. Layrisson said the 44-year-old officer had a blockage in one artery and had been experiencing high blood pressure that doctors had been monitoring.
Tangipahoa Parish Coroner Rick Foster, in a text message to The Times-Picayune, said the Coroner’s Office policy is to wait for toxicology results before releasing a cause of death. But, he wrote, “I can confirm what the police chief said at this time appears correct.”
Until recently, research did not support links between the COVID-19 vaccine and heart attacks in young people. Studies found only that these vaccines could lead to mild heart inflammation in some people. Complicating the research, scientists say the COVID-19 infection itself causes heart inflammation at higher rates.
The World Health Organization reported that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) reached pandemic levels in March 2020. Over 660 million globally documented and confirmed cases, including approximately 6.69 million people who died as of January 11, 2023. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19 has caused repeated waves of outbreaks across the globe.
In April, an expert panel convened by the National Academies concluded that there was insufficient data for most side effects to accept or reject a link to vaccination.
However, two weeks ago, Scientific Reports released a peer-reviewed study reassessing the data collected thus far. This study does suggest a link between vaccines and heart failure.
According to the report, “Cardiac discomfort has been reported periodically in COVID-19-vaccinated individuals. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the role of myocardial strains in the early assessment of the clinical presentations after COVID-19 vaccination.”
In total, 121 subjects who received at least one dose of vaccine within six weeks underwent laboratory tests, electrocardiogram (ECG), and echocardiogram. Researchers implemented two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) to analyze changes in the left ventricular myocardium. After vaccination, 66 individuals developed cardiac discomforts, such as chest tightness, palpitations, dyspnea, and chest pain.
Earlier this month, The New York Times published the results of a lengthy study conducted by the newspaper. The report began by citing the case of 37-year-old Michelle Zimmerman.
The publication reported, “Within minutes of getting the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, Michelle Zimmerman felt pain racing from her left arm up to her ear and down to her fingertips. Within days, she was unbearably sensitive to light and struggled to remember simple facts.”
Before taking the vaccine, Zimmerman, 37, who has a Ph.D. in neuroscience, rode her bicycle 20 miles, taught a dance class, and lectured on artificial intelligence. Three years later, she lives with her parents and is diagnosed with brain damage. She cannot work, drive, or even stand for long periods.
“When I let myself think about the devastation of what this has done to my life and how much I’ve lost, sometimes it feels even too hard to comprehend,” Dr. Zimmerman said. She believes her injury is non-typical and related to a contaminated vaccine batch.
COVID-19 vaccines, today considered a triumph of science and public health, are estimated to have prevented millions of hospitalizations and deaths. Yet even the best vaccines produce rare but severe side effects. Over 270 million people in the United States have received COVID-19 vaccines distributed in nearly 677 million doses.
Dr. Zimmerman’s account is among the more harrowing. However, thousands of Americans believe they suffered severe side effects following COVID-19 vaccination. As of April, just over 13,000 people have filed vaccine-injury compensation claims have been filed with the federal government.
Government officials told The Times they have completed reviews on only 19 percent of the cases. To date, 47 cases have been deemed eligible for compensation, and 12 victims have received payments averaging about $3,600.
Corporal Pricilla Dean Pierson’s death last Tuesday is more tragic considering the community’s loss of a young, vibrant community servant. However, like most of the reported cases studied, there is no conclusive evidence that her early death can be linked to COVID-19 or the vaccines designed to stop it.
Corporal Pierson served with the department for six years and is survived by three children, two step-children, and her husband, Captain Larry Pierson, a 25-year veteran of the Ponchatoula Police Department.