Benefits outweigh risks Heart protection from COVID shots remains amid updates, study finds Despite continued benefits, anti-vaccine rhetoric has driven down vaccination. Beth Mole – Jun 15, 2026 5:04 pm | 96 A healthcare worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine inside the Viejas Arena on the campus of San Diego State University in San Diego on Thursday, April 1, 2021. Credit: Getty | Bloomberg A healthcare worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine inside the Viejas Arena on the campus of San Diego State University in San Diego on Thursday, April 1, 2021. Credit: Getty | Bloomberg Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav Although most Americans have eschewed seasonal COVID-19 vaccines, the updated shots continue to show significant protection against cardiovascular disease, especially for those over age 75 and those with underlying medical conditions. That’s according to a new study that pulled data from more than 1 million patients in a US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health system. The finding builds on previous data showing that the vaccines significantly lower the risk of COVID-19-associated cardiovascular risks, particularly heart attacks and strokes.
But it wasn’t a given that the benefit would hold up over time—as the virus evolved, the vaccines were updated, population-level immunity increased from previous infection and vaccination, and risk of severe outcomes fell. The new study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine continued to protect against COVID-19-associated “major adverse cardiovascular events” (MACE), which include cardiovascular death, heart attack, stroke, and hospitalization for heart failure. The study included electronic medical record data from 1,039,659 patients in the VA’s St. Louis Health Care System.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/06/covid-vaccines-still-protect-against-heart-problems-large-study-finds/
But it wasn’t a given that the benefit would hold up over time—as the virus evolved, the vaccines were updated, population-level immunity increased from previous infection and vaccination, and risk of severe outcomes fell. The new study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine continued to protect against COVID-19-associated “major adverse cardiovascular events” (MACE), which include cardiovascular death, heart attack, stroke, and hospitalization for heart failure. The study included electronic medical record data from 1,039,659 patients in the VA’s St. Louis Health Care System.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/06/covid-vaccines-still-protect-against-heart-problems-large-study-finds/