Temporary heart inflammation in teens linked to vaccine

• Rare cases of temporary heart inflammation in teens have prompted an investigation into its link to the COVID-19 vaccine.
• Seven teen boys in the US reported chest pain and showed symptoms of myocarditis after receiving their second dose.
• Still, eligible teens are encouraged to get the vaccine since the link is not yet established.

Heart inflammation was reported as a possible side effect among teens from the second dose of COVID-19 vaccines.

According to an Associated Press report, health officials are now investigating the possible link between the Pfizer vaccine and heart inflammation.

A new study, published on Friday in the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, revealed that seven boys in the US, aged between 14 and 19, reported chest pain following their second dose of the vaccine.

Results of heart imaging tests showed symptoms of myocarditis, a type of inflammation of the heart muscle.

Study co-author Dr. Preeti Jaggi told AP that all affected teens were eventually discharged after two to six days since none of them experienced critical illness.

Jaggi added that the inflammation was believed to be temporary.

On Tuesday, Israel’s health ministry suggested a “probable link” between Pfizer’s second dose and myocarditis. They said that 275 of the more than 5 million people who received the vaccine reported heart muscle inflammation. Most were young men.

An investigation between the potential link between myocarditis and mRNA vaccines has been previously recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last month, according to a report from Insider‘s Sarah Al-Arshani.

The report stated, however, that there may be no link, since the rate of myocarditis cases after COVID-19 vaccinations did not differ from the baseline rate.

The CDC still encourages eligible teens to get vaccinated, since there has been a spike in the number of hospitalizations among the youth.

The Pfizer vaccine has received the CDC’s approval for people 12 years old and up. UK residents aged 12 to 15 are also allowed to get the vaccine per the nation’s medicines regulator.

Source: Business Insider