The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is set to hold an emergency meeting over a greater than expected number of cases of heart inflammation among young Americans who have received two doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna Covid vaccine. The MailOnline has the story.
[CDC leaders] will gather on June 18th to discuss 226 plausible cases of heart inflammation in young people – mainly affecting teenage boys and young men – after they have received their second doses of the vaccines.CDC bosses said Thursday the number of cases is higher than expected, although still rare.
[CNBC reports that, according to the CDC, scientists expected only between 10-102 cases of myocarditis or pericarditis.]A total of 226 cases have been reported that may meet the CDC’s “working case definition” of myocarditis and pericarditis following the shots, the agency said.
Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis is inflammation of the outer lining of the heart.
Among the 226, three are in intensive care, 15 are hospitalised, and 41 have ongoing symptoms. The rest – 167 – have recovered.
It is not clear if either condition is caused by the shots and the reports of cases are extremely rare.
The CDC continues to urge everyone aged 12 and older to get vaccinated.
These types of heart inflammation can be caused by a variety of infections, including a bout of Covid, as well as certain medications…
Cases are reported through the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
The system accepts reports from everyone regardless of the plausibility of the vaccine causing the symptom.
In total, VAERS received 573 reports of myocarditis and pericarditis after the patient had received their second dose.
A total of 372 reports were from people who had the Pfizer vaccine, while the remaining 201 had Moderna.
Another 216 cases of the heart inflammation were also reported after dose one of the vaccines.
More than half of the cases reported after people had received their second dose were in people between the ages of 12 and 24, the CDC said.
This group accounts for less than nine per cent of doses administered.
Almost four-fifths of cases were in males.
The overwhelming majority of the cases have occurred within a week of vaccination.
Symptoms included chest pain and breathing difficulties.
This comes just one day after Moderna asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to extend the emergency use of its Covid vaccine to American children aged 12 and over.
The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine in British children aged 12-15 earlier this month, though the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said that the decision on whether or not to vaccinate children against Covid is down to the Government given that it is a “political” matter. So far, the petition on the Gov.uk website against the vaccination of children has been signed by over 50,000 people.
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