Published Jun 23, 2026, 4:43 PM EDT
A VA study suggests that COVID vaccines may be broadly cardioprotective.
Research published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine found that COVID-vaccinated veterans had nearly 24 percent fewer all-cause cardiac events — not just those linked to COVID infections. The result suggests that the vaccines may be broadly cardioprotective, according to the researchers. The large study using VA health data found that COVID-19 vaccination significantly reduced the risk of heart attacks, strokes and other major cardiovascular events among veterans — including a reduction in cardiac events with no documented COVID diagnosis, a finding that surprised the researchers themselves. The study, published June 15, 2026, in JAMA Internal Medicine, followed more than 1 million veterans who received flu vaccinations at VA health care facilities in 2024. Approximately a third of them also received a COVID vaccine. In the eight months following vaccination, veterans who received COVID vaccines had a roughly 38 percent lower risk of COVID-associated major cardiovascular events compared to those who did not. The protective effect was strongest for veterans ages 75 and older and those with chronic conditions including kidney and lung disease. The more striking finding was what happened beyond documented COVID cases. COVID vaccination was associated with nearly a 24 percent reduction in all-cause cardiac events — heart attacks, strokes and related hospitalizations across the board, not just those in which a COVID diagnosis appeared in the record. The researchers estimate that at that rate, vaccination could prevent approximately 3,500 major cardiac events and 2,400 deaths annually per 1 million people. Read More: Now Is the Best Time to Enroll in VA Health Care: Here’s Why Key facts from the study of more than 1 million veterans who received flu vaccinations at VA facilities in 2024 and of whom approximately one-third also received a COVID vaccine:
