TAMPA (NBC) – A advisory group to the CDC said there’s a “likely association” between a rare heart inflammatory condition in adolescents and young adults mostly after they’ve received their second COVID-19 vaccine shot.
There have been more than 1,200 cases of myocarditis or pericarditis mostly in people 30 and under who received Pfizer’s or Moderna’s Covid vaccine, according to a series of slide presentations published Wednesday for a meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
The CDC says it has so far confirmed 323 cases in people ages 29 and younger and another 148 are under review. Available outcome data indicates that patients generally recover and do well.
Myocarditis is the inflammation of the heart muscle, while pericarditis is the inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart.
However, CDC officials say it is a rare event and there were roughly 12 cases per million-second doses given, and the benefits still “clearly outweigh” the risks.
The FDC says it anticipates adding a warning statement about the risk of myocarditis to the mRNA vaccines.
Myocarditis cases were most common in males in their teens and early 20s, and were mostly to occur within one week after the second dose. The most common symptom was chest pain, followed by shortness of breath.
