Topline
Seven teenage boys in the U.S. reportedly developed chest pain and heart inflammation within days of receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 shot, according to a new study published Friday, marking another possible, though yet unproven and rare, link between mRNA vaccines and heart conditions that authorities in Israel, Europe and the U.S. are investigating.
There have been rare reports of teenagers experiencing heart inflammation following mRNA vaccines.
Key Facts
The seven boys, between the ages of 14 and 19, reported to hospital with chest pains after receiving the Pfizer shot, according to the study published in Pediatrics Friday.
Scans detected a type of muscle inflammation called myocarditis, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is monitoring as a potentially rare side effect to the mRNA Covid-19 vaccines produced by Moderna and Pfizer.
None of the teens were critically ill and all were able to be sent home from hospital within a few days, the Associated Press reported.
A linked editorial emphasizes the overwhelming benefits of vaccination in children, something echoed by the CDC, which wholeheartedly recommends vaccination and highlights the fact that “most patients with myocarditis… responded well to medicine and rest and quickly felt better.”
Pfizer did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment.
Key Background
While the mRNA vaccines have not been plagued with concerns over rare blood clots—as AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson jabs have—concerns have emerged over a potential link to heart inflammation. No link has been established, however, and the CDC record no deviations from the levels of heart issues that would normally be expected in the general population, though further studies are underway to make sure. Officials in Europe are also investigating the issue and there have been reports from Israel where cases have been observed in, mostly, young men.
Big Number
4 million. This is around how many Covid-19 cases have been reported in children in the U.S. While children are at much lower risk than adults, they can and do suffer serious negative effects from the disease, as well as transmitting it to other people. Some 322 children have died from Covid-19 since the pandemic began.
Further Reading
Heart reaction probed as possible rare vaccine link in teens (AP)
Israel Sees ‘Probable Link’ Between Pfizer Vaccine And Small Number Of Heart Inflammation Cases (Forbes)
